How to Pray for Help with Your Heart Idols

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Practical Ministry, PrayerPosted on No Comments

The Apostle Paul says that we have “exchanged” what we should hallow, or worship, in our hearts with things we shouldn’t. He says, “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Rom. 1:25).

Notice that Paul doesn’t say that we “quit” or “stopped” worshiping (worshiping is simply another way of describing “hallowing”). He says that we “exchanged.” Your heart is designed by God to hallow the true God. But, because of sin, we “hallow” other things.

I saw the inescapable hallowing function of the human heart most clearly in my kids when they were going through the “Night-Night” stage. The “Night-Night” is what they called a specific blanket that they loved most. It’s the blanket that helped them to transform from terrified to tranquil, from unstable to stable, from loud to quiet and content.

We called it the “secret weapon.” When we dropped the kids off in the Children’s Ministry on Sunday mornings. We told the workers, “if they won’t stop crying, break this blanket out, and they’ll be fine in a minute or so.” The “Night-Night” was undefeated.

And there’s the thing about the “Night-Night.” There was nothing special about the blanket. We didn’t put anything on the blanket, like special oils or fragrances or anything illegal, to get them to like those blankets. All of the kids were given multiple blankets and all of the kids would choose just one of those blankets that would “work.”

It wasn’t about the blanket, it was about their hearts. Their hearts ascribed a certain value on those blankets that wasn’t true about those blankets. It was the kiddy version of what Paul was talking about.

As we get older, we leave our blankets behind, but our hearts are still making the same silly exchange—hallowing the creation over the Creator. We base our inner sense of well-being on people’s opinions, how much money we have in the bank, how “in control” we feel, and the like.

Do you know what your “Night-Night’s” are?

The Bible calls these “Night-Night’s” idols. And everyone struggles with them. Tim Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, describes these idols as “anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God.”

What might these be? Not usually bad things. They are typically good things.

Some people’s hearts and, therefore, days, are controlled by the idol of approval. If they are affirmed like they want, then they feel good about life, where it’s headed, and the journey they’re on. If they’re not affirmed, then they feel frustrated, angry, scared, embarrassed, worthless, or some other life-taking emotion.

The Bible affirms the goodness of approval in others eyes in passages like Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” But sinful hearts have to be careful that this good thing, a “good name,” doesn’t get turned into a God thing that we have to have, that we base our heart’s contentment on. Jesus’ name was slandered by almost everyone, but his satisfaction was taken away by no one. If people’s opinions controlled his purpose, and not his heavenly Father’s opinion, he never would have did what was necessary on the cross to bring salvation to the world.

Do you tend to make an idol out of people’s opinions?

Other people don’t worry about what people think that much. Instead, their hearts and, therefore, their days, are controlled by the idol of productivity. If they are performing like they want to be performing, then they feel good about life, where it’s headed, and the journey they’re on. If they feel unproductive, behind, or anything like this, they feel frustrated, angry, scared, embarrassed, worthless, or some other life-taking emotion.

God is “pro-productivity.” He works, designed humanity to work, created the standards for productivity, and provided tons of instruction on how to work in the Bible. Jesus did the greatest work ever imaginable by purchasing salvation for sinners. But God didn’t create any work, or work process, that he wants you to replace him with. In fact, he commanded us to “rest” from our work so that we’d be reminded that it’s his work that makes the kingdom advance.

Do you tend to make an idol out of working?

But there are other people who don’t care if they are productive or if people have a high view of them, they struggle, instead, with the idol of comfort. If they are resting like they want to be resting, then they feel good about life, where it’s headed, and the journey they’re on. They’re more patient and loving towards people when they are in this place. But if they feel uncomfortable, overbooked, or anything like this, they feel frustrated, angry, scared, embarrassed, worthless, or some other life-taking emotion.

God is “pro-comfort.” He knows that rest is a good thing, which is why he commanded that we “rest” each week. But he wants us to know that our “rest” has limits. He wants us to be productive (Col. 3:23).

Do you tend to make an idol out of rest?

Another major way that people take good things in our lives and replace God with them is with possessions. People that struggle with the idol of stuff, feel good about life, where it’s headed, and the journey they’re on, if they have a certain level of “stuff.” There bank account needs to be at a certain level. Their car, apartment, house, or whatever, needs to look a certain way. If they aren’t at their “level” of stuff, then they feel frustrated, angry, scared, embarrassed, worthless, or some other life-taking emotion.

God loves “stuff.” After all, he created it! But he doesn’t want us to value “stuff” more than we value him.

Do you tend to make an idol out of stuff?

Everybody struggles at the heart level with some or all of these realities.

When you pray for God’s name to be hallowed, his kingdom to come, and his will to be done, you are praying for help in these areas of struggle in our hearts.

Do you ask God to help you overcome your heart idols?

For people who are prone to worship and hallow the god of people’s opinions, ask God to make your heart hallow his name so much that when others’ opinions change, your joy and hope and expectancy doesn’t; or if everyone is happy with you, that you don’t start caring about their opinions more than his.

For people who make an idol out of work, ask God to make your heart hallow his name so much that when you don’t feel productive, your joy and hope and expectancy doesn’t disappear, and your since of well-being isn’t gone; or if you feel super productive or refreshed that you don’t replace him by finding more joy in accomplishment than in him.

For people who make an idol out of comfort, ask God to make your heart hallow his name so much that when you feel overbooked or maxed out, your joy and hope and expectancy doesn’t disappear, and your since of well-being isn’t gone; or if you feel super refreshed that you don’t replace him by finding more joy in your circumstantial comfort than in him.

For people who make an idol out of possessions, ask God to make your heart hallow God’s name so much that when you have less than you want, your joy and hope and expectancy doesn’t disappear; or if you have more than you want, you’re your heart doesn’t replace God with the stuff he is providing you.

When you pray for God’s name to be hallowed, you are praying that our hearts would be free. You’re praying that you would be like Jonathan Edwards was when he was fired and it was said of him, “his happiness was out of reach from his enemies.” In that moment, his heart hallowed the right God.

This post includes content from my book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time.

3 Short Specific Answers to Prayer

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Church, PrayerPosted on No Comments

It’s been a few months since 21 Days to Childlike Prayer was released. Since that time, I have had people reach out to me and share their stories of specific answers to prayer. God has used each story to grow my childlike faith and childlike trust. I love hearing stories of specific answers to prayer.

But I’ve also had a number of people reach out to me to get some help learning how to pray with specificity. “What kinds of things can I ask for?” The answer, in short, is that you can ask for anything. Any decent dad wants to hear and help their kids with all of their lives, not just “religious” areas. Our heavenly Father does as well. If a problem or plan is weighing on you, cast that burden on the Lord, “he cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7). If it’s not what’s best for you, then he won’t give you what you ask for.

To help encourage specificity in your prayer life, I want to share a few stories I’ve heard from various readers. As you’ll see, these specific prayers aren’t always for “big” things.

A daughter asks her mom to pray for “tights” to arrive before they had to leave for a trip

She’d been looking for the Amazon delivery truck all day long. The tights she ordered had to arrive before the end of the day or she’d have to head out on the trip without them. As it got closer and closer to time to leave, the daughter asked, “Mom, will you pray that the tights get here before we have to leave?” Just as they stopped to pray, in the middle of the prayer, they heard the Amazon truck pull up. Sure enough, the tights arrived just in time. The daughter was so excited!

A couple asks God to change their employers mind, allowing them to work from home in another city

His boss wasn’t happy with the commute he was making to the office. In a post-covid world, the guy felt like working from home was okay. The boss was okay with it, sort of. There was a low level tension. They loved the job and didn’t want to move. In the middle of a 21 Days of Childlike Prayer initiative at his church, the guy started praying for the boss and the organization to change their minds and genuinely support his desire to work from home, before the 21 Days of Childlike Prayer was over. Sure enough, in the middle of the 21 Days of Childlike Prayer, God answered their prayer. He could continue to work from home. They were thrilled!

A woman prays for clarity on whether to continue a home business or not by the end of the day

She loved cooking for people and the extra income she brought in from cooking certainly was nice. But it seemed like it was becoming too much. The stress was impacting her health. So, as she was making her way through the 21 Days of Childlike Prayer, she asked God to show her by the end of the next day whether she should continue or not. She wasn’t sure how he would do that, but she thought it would be incredibly helpful. Much to her surprise, the next day, a sweet lady who loved her cooking, reached out to her and told her how much she loved her cooking. She also told her that what she was doing might be illegal. She said that she probably needed to get certain licenses in order to do what she’s doing. This advice was exactly the kind of clarity that she was looking for. She shut down the business. And she did it with joy because of the specific answer to prayer.

These three, brief stories of specific answers to prayer are meant to encourage you to get specific with your prayers. What would you like to see God do? By when? Specificity leads to visibility. When you get specific, you give the invisible God an opportunity to become visible in your life in a way that he wouldn’t without that specific prayer. None of these stories come from people who would consider themselves “all-star” Christians. Just ordinary Christians, with ordinary problems and plans, that have blood-bought access to an extraordinary God.

What You Should Remember When You Don’t Remember to Pray or Don’t Know the Words to Pray

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Church, PrayerPosted on No Comments

Good parents don’t wait until their kids ask for help to do good things for them, especially if they are going through a hard time. Whether it is a kid who didn’t make the team, had a friend leave them, or some other heartbreaking event that every kid goes through, parents want to help their kids get through those times. They want to make things better. Some parents get a gift, others take the family out for ice cream, but all good parents work to help their kids regardless if their kids ask for it.

The same is true of our heavenly Father. He is always “working all things for our good” (Rom 8:28), whether we ask him to in specific ways each day or not. No one can separate us from his love, regardless of whether we prayed that or not (Rom 8:39).

These truths are important to keep in mind as we start to pray our problems, plans, and bible passages. Because I’ve found that there have been times where I have started to believe the lie that “if I don’t ask for it, it won’t happen.” I know that sounds silly, but I’ve had it happen to me over and over again.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, occasionally my burden relieving prayer life turns into a burden producing prayer life. I begin to think that I have to give voice to the prayer, whether verbally or in my head, or God won’t do above and beyond all I can imagine or think. I’ve found myself wondering if God might punish me for not praying enough or for finding the right words at the right time. Without realizing it, every once in a while, my childlike prayer life turns into performance theatre—something Jesus said he’s not interested in.

In those moments, I have to remind myself that the Bible teaches that God’s work doesn’t depend on our words. That God doesn’t need great prayers to do great things. In those moments, when I get off track, I have to remember who I’m praying to matters way more than how well I’m praying—especially in the difficult times.

One of the first places I saw this in Scripture was in Psalm 5. At the very beginning of this Psalm, King David says, “Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray” (Ps 5:1).

Notice what David asks the Lord to consider. He says consider his “groaning” or “sighing.” David goes on to ask God to give attention to the “sound of my cry.” What does David want God to consider and give attention to? Not his perfectly formed prayers. No, he wants him to consider his wordless tears, deep breaths, the sounds that he makes in his difficult times.

David is not in a good situation. He isn’t happy about his life. Yet, he has a childlike impulse that leads him both to come to God for help and to interpret his wordless ways.

Then, David goes on to say, he’ll “watch.” He is expectant. He is hopeful. He believes God will do something with his situations even when he doesn’t know what to ask for.

Are you weighed down by something today?

You can “pray your problem” by simply “sighing” and “groaning” in God’s presence.

Remember, Jesus told his disciples that prayer doesn’t exist to inform God, it exists to engage us with the presence of God. As we’ve seen, Jesus says, “7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt 6:7-8).

Jesus let’s them know that their heavenly Father is already working on what is best for his children. Prayer isn’t about informing an uninformed God, it’s about engaging our unengaged hearts.Prayer is about changing our perspective so that we see the world like God does.

Some have used these words by Jesus as a reason not to pray. They think, “If God already knows, what’s the point?” But think about it. Jesus, the God-man, is the greatest teacher ever. He knows what he’s doing. He didn’t tell us this right before he taught us how to pray to destroy our motivation. Jesus wants this to convict and comfort us. He’s letting us know that this is a real relationship God’s using prayer to invite us into.

And God doesn’t just show us this reality here. It’s all over the Bible. The Psalms are filled with people “crying out” to God in prayer. We’re not told what exactly people are praying in many difficult situations. For instance, Hannah was childless and desperately wanted a child. Her prayer time was so filled with tears and emotions that a priest accused her of being drunk (1 Sam 1:12-14). The Apostle Paul talked to the Roman Christians about times when “we do not know what to pray” (Rom 8:26).

When you live life prayerfully in a broken world you will come across times where you can’t find the words. Charles Spurgeon was a pastor who knew great success and great difficulty. He walked with many people through the “valley of the shadow of death,” as a man of prayer. But he knew there were times when people couldn’t find the words. But after studying God’s word he wanted people to know that “groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.”

So when you can’t find the words, remember, God is already working on what’s best for you.

This post includes content from my book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time.

The Secret to Burden-Relieving Prayer: Childlike Trust

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Church, PrayerPosted on No Comments

Ouch! I’m telling!” Judah, my youngest son, complained.

As expected, immediately, I heard him making his way to me in the kitchen, where I was going through the mail. With tears just about to run down his cheeks, Judah told me all about the great injustice he endured.

Having just returned home from work, I was a bit tired. So, I said to him, “I’ll take care of it.” With that, his countenance changed, and he joyfully walked right back where he’d come from. I overheard him self-righteously say to his sibling, “Dad said, ‘He’ll take care of it.’”

He didn’t, of course, know “how” or even “when” I would take care of it. Frankly, he didn’t know “if” I would take care of it at all. He simply knew “who” would take care of it. Because he knew who would take care of his problem, he walked out of that conversation without the burden he brought into it.

That burden-relieving, peace-producing, change-you-right-where-you-are-from-the-inside-out kind of interaction only happens when there is an unshakable trust in the one to whom you just presented your problem. That’s childlike trust.

Our interactions with God are supposed to happen that way. That’s what it looks like to “cast your burden on the Lord” (1 Pet. 5:7; Ps. 55:22). In prayer, our childlike faith leads us to the Father with our burden, and our childlike trust enables us to leave the conversation without it. Childlike trust is wrapped up in the “your will be done” part of the Lord’s Prayer. Our prayers are requests for what we think are best. Childlike trust says, “I trust you to do what is best with my request.”

Remember, Jesus says we are talking with the God of the heavens who created all things, sustains all things, works his mysterious, sovereign will for the good of those who love him, raises up kingdoms, flattens kingdoms, raised the dead, defeated death, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, enabled men to survive Babylon’s flames, shut the mouths of Daniel’s lions, just to name a few things. Not a bad resume! He knows all things, loves perfectly, and is incredibly gracious. While we can know him truly, we’ll never know him completely. He is an amazing God!

Sometimes we forget the One to whom we are talking. Often times, somewhere in our conversation with the great and gracious God, we start to feel like we know what’s best for us, regardless of the situation. That’s why it is so important to remember who God is. If God is great enough to answer your prayers and those of everyone else praying to him, he is great enough to have a better way that you don’t understand.

Childlike trust rests on the power, love, and wisdom of God. Because he is all-powerful, I don’t have to worry about something stopping him from doing what is best for me. Because he loves his children with an unending love, I can be assured that he will always do what’s best for me. Because he’s all-wise, I know he always takes the best way. Childlike trust rests in his revealed character, not in the knowledge of his secret plans. 

That’s why it is so important to think about the words that we often use to end our prayers—“in Jesus’ name.” We don’t say this because we have to. Jesus didn’t end his prayer in Matthew 6 in that way. He said at the beginning of his now famous prayer, to pray “like” this (Matt 6:9). His teaching wasn’t primarily concerned with the order of the wording, but with the elements of the prayer. Yet we do this because, in other passages, he talks to his disciples about asking “in his name” (Jn. 14).

It is important that we pray “in Jesus’ name.” We should not treat his name like a secret password. Instead, we should be reminded of the powerful, gospel truth that we can come to God “in Jesus’ name” because of Jesus’ death in our place on the cross. Because of the cross, we should never question his love. Because of the empty tomb, we should never question his power. And because of the whole plan, we should never question his wisdom. No one thought that anything good could come from Jesus’ death on the day of his death. Little did anyone know that Jesus would make the seemingly worst day into the best day with the best news ever.

Do you trust God like a child? Do you trust him enough to be thankful for his “no’s” to your requests because you know that every “no” is a “yes” to something better?

When you do, you’ve learned the secret to experiencing a deep inner peace in the midst of incredibly difficult circumstances. That inner peace doesn’t just change your daily life; it has a powerful impact on the world around you—an impact we all desperately need.

This post includes content from my book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time.

Specific Answers to Prayer: A 3rd Grader Prays His Bully Problems and Pancake Dreams

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Church, Ministry, Practical Ministry, PrayerPosted on No Comments

Nobody likes hearing stories of kids getting bullied, much less a 3rd grader whose dad is out of the country for work. But that’s what was happening. Life can be tough in 3rd grade.

The boys mom saw someone share online that they were enjoying my book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer. So she decided to get her and her 3rd grader a copy.

After the first week of readings, the 3rd grader got a specific answer to prayer that thrilled him.

The boy came home from school happier than usual. His mom wondered what was going on. It turns out that he prayed that day that he wouldn’t be bullied at school in a way that he was expecting to be. And God answered his specific prayer with a “yes”! he was so happy.

Hilariously, he also prayed that God would provide pancakes at lunch that day. As he told his mom the story of the day, he told her that the pancakes, unfortunately, weren’t served. But the boy said, “I guess it wasn’t what was best for me.” If you’ve read week 1, you know that he is communicating the heart of childlike trust.

When I heard this story, I was so moved. I hated that this boy is getting bullied, that he is facing it without his earthly Father. But I loved how his mom was leading him spiritually. I was thrilled that as a 3rd grader, he was already praying his problems, praying with specificity, and praying with childlike trust (specific “no’s” require childlike trust).  

The 3rd grader believes his heavenly Father loves him enough and is powerful enough to help him with his bully problem and his pancake dreams. God is glorified by that. What does your prayer life say about your belief in God’s love and power?  

Pride Doesn’t Pray: How Remembering Our Childlike Identity Removes Prides Power

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Church, Practical Ministry, PrayerPosted on No Comments

Pride doesn’t pray. Pride doesn’t think it needs God’s help. Pride thinks that more will be accomplished today by skipping a time of prayer and starting to do the tasks for the day. What’s pride sound like? “I’d love to pray, but I don’t have time to pray. I have so much to do.” That’s pride. It’s the default, heart posture for most of God’s children. Want to know how strong pride’s grip is on your heart? Your prayer life, more than anything else, shows how much pride is in control of your heart. 

One of the keys to a flourishing, daily prayer life is battling the pride that stands in the way of it.

That’s why it’s so important, as we think about how Jesus started his teaching on prayer, that we don’t just focus on how Jesus led us to think, in the Lord’s Prayer, about God’s identity as “Father,” but also on its implications for our identity. When we really grasp that Jesus’ Father is “Our Father,” we realize that means we are his children. Jesus wants his disciples to pray, and, in order for that to happen, he teaches them to embrace their childlike identity.

Thinking of yourself as a child isn’t offensive to us, but it was to Jesus’ original listeners. It would have been a shot to their pride. Jesus knows this. He intends this. Because prayer won’t happen until pride is recognized and turned from. Daily prayer happens when we see through the delusions of pride that say we don’t need to ask God for help.

If you want to learn to pray, you simply need to remember who you are. You’re God’s child. Embrace your blood-bought, childlike identity. Bring all of the problems, plans, dreams, frustrations, to a heavenly Father who actually can make a difference. You don’t have to be strong to have the prayer life you were made for, you just need to grow in your awareness of your weakness. Jesus says “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Our prayer lives show how genuinely we understand that. Jesus’ emphasis on childlike prayer is an attack on our daily, deadly pride.

The next time your pride tries to persuade you not to pray, remember how Jesus described you. You’re a child—a child that’s at the stage of dependency where you need to ask your Father for “daily bread.” You need God’s help with your other problems and plans too. Don’t just listen to the inner calls to “get going!” Stop, talk back to your prayerless pride. Compare what you could accomplish today to what God could accomplish today. And don’t stop until you’ve slowed down enough to see how God can do more in a moment than you can do in a lifetime.

This post includes content from my book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time.

4 Reasons Why I Wrote “21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time”

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Ministry, Practical Ministry, Prayer, UncategorizedPosted on 2 Comments

Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers in the history of Christianity. He was known as the “Prince of Preachers.” If you’ve ever read one of his many available sermons from the 1800s, then you can understand why so many are still impressed with his preaching ministry.

But it was prayer that Spurgeon believed gave his gospel-centered ministry such power. That’s why he said, “I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” Spurgeon knew how God loved to work through prayer to show his power and presence. Spurgeon also knew of the tendencies of Christians, even pastors and leaders, to overlook it. Christians prize eloquence, insight, and activity.

It took many years and challenging seasons for me to finally share Spurgeon’s love for prayer. Since that difficult time, few things have brought me greater joy than praying and helping others learn to pray. These joys led, eventually, to the writing of 21 Days to Childlike Prayer. While I love and am thankful for other great books on prayer, I wrote my book for the following four reasons.

To provide a book on prayer that’s accessible even for new Christians – One of my favorite parts of being a pastor is helping people who have never prayed, learn to pray. Accessibility marked Jesus’ ministry, the Apostles’, Spurgeon’s, and, hopefully, this book. When Jesus taught his disciples about prayer, he pointed them to the relationship between a Father and a child. He didn’t say that they needed to become more spiritually sophisticated to have the prayer life he wanted them to have. They just needed to become more childlike. That’s what this book is all about. And that’s why the chapters are short and written in an accessible manner. I am passionate about helping as many people as possible learn how prayer helps them experience the power and presence of God in their problems and plans.

To provide a book on prayer that challenges seasoned pastors and ministry leaders – As a ministry leader and pastor, I didn’t have much of a prayer life. Many pastors and leaders I’ve known have struggled in similar ways. It’s easy to move through years of ministry without prioritizing prayer. Through a difficult season, I found the prayer life I’d looked for my whole life. I want to help leaders learn the things I learned without going through what I went through. Jesus doesn’t want his church being led by prayerless men and women. While I wrote the book in an accessible way, I believe it is substantive enough to challenge any pastor and ministry leader. I get so excited thinking about more and more pastors and leaders praying their problems and plans with specificity and childlike trust.

To provide a book on prayer that groups of people can read together – Jesus designed prayer to take place personally and in groups. We know that because he starts his teaching on prayer with the plural, “Our” Father. 21 Days to Childlike Prayer includes reflection questions and exercises at the end of each chapter that would serve a group discussion. Some books on prayer call for churches, families, and other groups to pray together. This book is designed to help make those biblical calls a reality. I’m thankful that Harvest House, the publisher of the book, shares this desire. They are offering bulk pricing to help foster group praying (50% off and free shipping for purchases of 15 or more books – email Kathy.Zemper@harvesthousepublishers.com). I hope this book can help unite groups of people’s hearts with God and each other, providing a unique, shared experience that they can walk through together.

To provide a book on prayer that will help Christians bring more glory to God – When people believe in a God capable enough, loving enough, and wise enough, that they push pause on their lives to simply pray, God is glorified. Our prayerful actions communicate that we believe in a powerful, awesome God. When we don’t pray, we communicate the opposite. We communicate that God is irrelevant since he is unable to help us with our problems and plans. When we bring specific requests to God, he is glorified as a God who can really make a difference, in specific ways. When we walk away from our prayer times with him without the burdens we brought into it, God is glorified as a God who really can be trusted. I want God to get the glory that he deserves and uniquely gets from childlike prayer. I’m praying this book increases the glory that God uniquely gets from a praying people.

Today, on the launch of 21 Days to Childlike Prayer, I’m praying that that God would use this book to help his children make prayer a daily, life-giving, burden-relieving, joy-producing reality. I’d love for you to buy a copy. And I’d greatly appreciate it if you would pray at least one prayer on behalf of the book. Ask God to answer at least one specific prayer of each person who reads 21 Days to Childlike Prayer, during their 21 day journey. The book is 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time. Grab a copy here today.

Planting Roots Vision Video

by Jed CoppengerBible, Christian living, Church, Ministry, Missions, Practical Ministry, Prayer, Redemption City Church, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

What is the Planting Roots Initiative? 

Planting Roots is an initiative to raise money, above and beyond normal giving, to build a church building at our 4095 Clovercroft Rd. property–helping us make disciples, train leaders, and feed the hungry more effectively.  

Our goal is to build an 11,800 sq ft facility that will expand our ability to make disciples, train leaders, and feed the hungry. It will include a larger worship space, lobby, kid space, and bathrooms. It will have a few offices, a kitchenette, an equipping room, and, as is the current practice, it will be able to be used for student ministry on Wednesday nights. Also, the building will include the necessary infrastructure (parking, sewer, landscaping, etc.). The building will be built as Phase 1 of a multi-phase building plan, that will allow the church to be positioned to build efficiently in the future, as the Lord continues to grow Redemption City Church. 

Why are we doing it? 

Redemption City Church exists to be a present preview of and pathway to the future Redemption City (Rev. 21-22)–a city where all of life is centered around the Redeemer. That’s why we are on a mission to make disciples, train leaders, and feed the hungry. Planting Roots is an initiative to help Redemption City Church, who has rented facilities over the past 8 years, build a building that will enable us to be a preview of Redemption City in the decades to come on property we own. 

How can you help?

1. Pray – Because we believe and have seen God do more in a moment than we can do in a lifetime, we pray. Join us in asking God to lead us, grow us, and provide financially for us. Pray that God moves in the hearts of people in a way that leads them to live at a level of generosity that can only be explained by God’s gracious work in their lives. 

2. Participate Every Week in the Planting Roots Sermon Series – Every week is an important week at Redemption City, and this is especially true this sermon series. We have been prayerfully planning for this series for quite some time. Prioritize Sunday morning attendance so that we can make the most of this journey together. 

3. Commit to Give a 3 Year, Above-and-Beyond Financial Gift and Give Part of It February 27, 2022 – We want everyone who calls Redemption City Church their home to invest in the vision of planting roots by giving a sacrificial 36 month financial commitment above and beyond their regular tithes and offerings, and to give part of that on Commitment Sunday on February 27, 2022. 

4. Invite Others To Join the Effort – We are praying for God to use people in our spheres of influence to partner with us prayerfully and financially in our Planting Roots Initiative. Would you help us spread the word throughout your relational world online and in person about this kingdom advancing opportunity to help build a building for a church that makes disciples, trains leaders, and feeds the hungry?  

Answers to Specific Prayer: Kidnapped Missionaries in Haiti Praying with Specificity

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Missions, PrayerPosted on No Comments

Last year, the Mawozo gang abducted missionaries, demanding $17 million for their release. By God’s grace, they made it out alive.

As I was reading an article about the events, I couldn’t help but notice how much prayer played a part in their ability to endure and escape.

Weston Showalter, a spokesman for the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, shared what he heard from the missionaries themselves.

He said, “in times when they faced fear and danger during the night, they prayed that God would wake believers around the world and nudge them to pray for them. And that truly did happen. On this side, we hear of people who were awakened at night with a sense of urgency to pray.”

Showalter also communicated the fact that “hostages set up an around-the-clock prayer schedule, each praying for a half-hour during the day and an hour at night.”

The missionaries prayed because they believed in a God big enough to do “whatever he pleases” (Ps. 115:3). This is a beautiful picture of the childlike faith it takes to pray. And the specificity in their prayer lives led to visibility, seeing the invisible God, when they heard of others taking the action, getting up in the middle of the night, that they prayed for. Awesome!

Praying like this also enabled them to focus on representing God’s purposes as God’s children in this moment. Showalter noted, “The missionaries assured the hostage-takers of their love for their souls. They pointed them to Jesus. They hostages spoke to the gang leader on several occasions, boldly reminding him of God, and warning him of God’s eventual judgment if he and the gang members continue in their ways.” This is a beautiful picture of communicating God’s truth and love.

The story also says that the hostages prayed for an opportunity to escape. “On several occasions, they planned to escape, but they had decided if specific things didn’t happen, they would accept that as God’s direction to wait. Twice when they planned to escape, God gave clear signs that this was not the right time. On both occasions, on the very minute they had discussed, the exact thing took place they had requested as a sign. God was at work, but the timing was not right.” Then, on December 15, God provided one, and enabled to walk by many guards. Incredible!

God helped Peter escape because of the prayers of God’s people. It seems he still works these kinds of miracles today.