There’s a famous story told of five young college students visiting Charles Spurgeon’s London church to hear the famous “prince of preachers” give a message. Arriving early, they were greeted by a man who offered to show them around, particularly so they could see the church’s “heating plant,” despite the fact that it was a hot summer day.
Being polite, they followed the man to a door that he quietly opened. “This,” he told them, “is our heating plant.”
At the outset of a new year, we tend to think a good deal about resolutions and making changes for the better. And in Christian circles, that often includes pursuing a Bible reading plan, and rightly so. God continually speaks to us through his word, orienting our lives in the proper direction, giving us hope through his promises, etc.
But while we often talk about ways to read and hear God’s word to us, we don’t usually pay as much attention to our words to him, that is, praying. How is it that we can encourage growth in this area for 2015?
Let me quickly make the disclaimer that I don’t offer any of this as someone who has “arrived.” More like a routinely stumbling traveler that has come across a few good road signs: