Evangelizing is akward. We know it. But God asks us to boldly go into awkward situations for him. God asks us to be uncomfortable for him. And he tells us that we will never be alone doing it - the Holy Spirit is right there with us.

The Catholics don't say it. Mark left it out. So where does this piece of the prayer come from, and why is it important?

When “lead us not into temptation” becomes “lead us, not into temptation,” the whole meaning shifts. We’re not asking God to stop tempting us - we’re asking him to lead us back out of it once we’re already in it.

 

The Holy Spirit has a funny way of giving each of us exactly what we need, even if we didn't know that we needed it at the time.

Amen

"Our Father." The opening lines of the Lord's Prayer. The next time you pray, ask yourself: "why do I really pray? Who is in charge of my life? Is it me? Or is it god?"

The story doesn't end when you mess up, when you fail or stumble or mess up. Because Jesus didn't just die, he was resurrected in forgiveness of our sins. He died so that you can get back up again when you stumble - because God wants to use every single one of us. 

"I no longer hold god responsible for illnesses or accidents or natural disasters, because I realize I gain very little, and I lose so much when I blame god for those things. You see, I can worship a God who hates suffering but cannot eliminate it more easily than I can worship a god who chooses to make children suffer and die for whatever exalted reason."

Why didn't God answer my prayer? It may sound cliche, but he IS  listening - just maybe not responding the way we would want. Psalm 22:1-11 is an amazing example of a back-and-forth prayer where the head and the heart are not on the same page. But they come together in the end, finding an acceptance of God's will. Only when the heart and the mind work together can we begin to get in sync with God - because he is, in fact, listening. 

One question so many people ask is: "why don't I always feel the presence of God?" But that's not very fair. God is all around us, broadcasting his presence to us in a thousand different ways. Sometimes, we're just not tuned to it. We're an old-school TV with a wobbly antenna. So instead of asking "why isn't God's signal coming through," try asking "am I tuned to God?"