When Peter was imprisoned, the church prayed with conviction and passion for his release and yet seemed astonished when he was.

How do we pray when faced with a crisis? How do we make sense of both the answered and unanswered prayers?

Matthew’s gospel tells two stories of outsiders who come to Jesus determined and confident that he will do something incredible for someone they care about. Will we do the same for one another?

It’s easy to become discouraged when we don’t see the results of our prayers but, as the story of Abraham reminds us, we must take our place as priests who will intercede on behalf of the world.

Psalm 23 is much more than a scripture to read at funerals. It’s a radical reminder that we pray to a God who is the shepherd of our lives.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians reminds us of the core business of prayer – that we may know God better.

When we pray, we’re saying things shouldn’t be like this and that things could change.

Fundamentally prayer is an act of hope.#elim pic.twitter.com/Mc6gizf4YP

Luke’s telling of the birth of Jesus reminds us that God acted at a real time in history, in a real place, with real people. If we pause from our busyness, we might just be amazed again at the one who comes close to us.

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The genealogies at the end of Ruth and at the start of Matthew’s gospel are full of remarkable people; many of whom, in spite of their own frailty, made commitments which would change the future of their families and pave the way for the birth of the Messiah.

What has God called you to continue to be committed to?

The end of the book of Ruth is much better than a simple love story; the actions of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz have much bigger consequences.

Can we partner with God to help write different endings with better story lines in the situations we find ourselves in?

Both Ruth and Boaz took risks in order to create new possibilities for others.

What might God be asking of us which could prove redemptive for others in our families and work places?