The world has progressively and continually moved away from God’s Word, and in doing so it has desensitizing the secular mind towards that which ought to be morally repugnant.

We live in a world quite similar to the dangers found in the days of the New Testament. With a plurality of perspectives concerning faith and doctrine where can Christians turn to find objective truth? The Apostle Paul writes to his student Titus with instructions towards godliness.

What do we mean when we pray, “in Jesus name?” A quick survey on the subject will reveal that there are a few options as to what people today think praying in Jesus name means. We will evaluate Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples before He departs from them, and we will see that the interpretation for repeated phrase to “ask for anything in my name” is wholly dependent on the context of John chapters 14-16.

Learning how to pray well is not just a discipline for today, it was also key for the disciples in Jesus’ day. With worldly examples focusing on gaining public attention or teaching a false practice of elaborate lofty word-ridden requests their world wasn’t much different than ours today.

The movie industry makes good sport out of the common anxiety found in public prayer, but if we were honest, we might confess that they’ve really tapped into a root of realistic fears that plague many modern Christians. “I love God, I pray to Him everyday, but please don’t call on me to pray!”

One of the most difficult things to endure within the Christian life is waiting to hear from God. Believers down through the ages have persevered in their hope of God’s providence and sovereignty, even in the face of waiting to receive their answer. This determination to persevere reveals not their faith in their request, but rather their faith in the One on whom they call.

The contemporary attitude of prayer is often dismissed by the secular public, and many times Christians too fail to keep the conviction of disciplined prayer. One helpful perspective might be for believers to understand God’s purpose behind prayer. What does it accomplish in the heart and mind of the Christ follower, and what does it accomplish concerning God’s glory on earth?

When we fail to go to God for the concerns of life, we rely only on our own ability. Its like trying to shovel your driveway with a 20 inch shovel when God’s answer is like the width of a plow truck, and can inject power that we could never imagine by our own effort.

The world is not as it should be. There righteous are found to be persecuted, and the wicked prosper. Evils in this world go unpunished, and the glory of God isn’t found saturating His creation as it should. When the Prophet Isaiah recognizes the coming of God’s Son he sees a judge who will come without the errors we carry; he sees One who will come with integrity and justice.

Love is the avenue upon which trust travels. Trusting God with your life and your future is natural response to His love. It is at Christmas that we truly see the love of God made evident to us in the giving of His one and only Son.