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What do exercising, saving money, and prayer have in common? We talk about them more than we do them. Why don’t we pray more? There are probably many answers, but try this one on for size: as with exercising and saving money, we don’t really think our prayers are worth the effort. But what if we knew that prayer would make a difference? What if we knew how to pray – and why to pray – in a way that cooperates with God’s work in our lives and in the world?

We’re getting down to earth this week about God’s guidance. Does God guide people? If so, how? Does he guide through the scriptures exclusively? If not, by what other means? Does God guide by feelings? Does God guide everyone? Why does God guide? What part, if any, does prayer play in obtaining divine guidance? Knowing the answers to these questions will make a real difference in our lives—in some cases, set out hearts at ease; in others, motivate us to action.

There are three principal components to lasting change: vision, choice, and resources. On a wintry night you think: How nice it would be to sit in front of the fire. That’s VISION. You’ll never experience the circumstances you’ve envisioned unless you light a match. That’s CHOICE. But unless you have some kindling and logs, your fire is going to go out quickly. You need fuel for the fires: That’s RESOURCES. We're looking at the available resources for the genuine, lasting change that we call the Christian Life.

Do you sometimes suffer from “decision fatigue”? Yet the decisions keep coming. And it’s a good thing they do: making choices is an integral part of God’s plan to make us his strong, happy, spiritually-rich, full-grown sons and daughters. But what is entailed? What should we do when none of our options seem good or when we have to give up one good to gain another?

What does it take to change in a genuine and lasting manner? This is not only relevant to people stuck in addiction, it is relevant to all Christ-followers, whose lives must be characterized by change.

It’s time to get down to earth about prayer. We’ll look at one thing people have in common who receive lots of answers to their prayers. Once we have seen that, we will look at the prayer Jesus gave his disciples from that perspective.

Are you one of those people who've said: “I just don’t get anything out of reading the Bible.” Or, “It’s over my head.” Or, “I don’t understand it.”? Maybe you already appreciate the Bible but want to get even more out of your time with it. Here are some tried and true methods for engaging with the Bible that you can try and adapt to your situation.