Steps of Faith: Recovering From Heartbreak

Running Head: STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK
Steps of Faith: Recovering from Heartbreak Lynn Nelson Spring, 2012
STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK
Table of Contents Module Overview ................................................ 4

Assessment ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Content ................................................................ 8
Who is this God and does He care? .......................................................................................................... 9 Theology ................................................................................................................................................. 13 Building the House .................................................................................................................................. 14 Trust and Faith ........................................................................................................................................ 19 The Treasure of Trials ............................................................................................................................. 20 Thankfulness ........................................................................................................................................... 23 The Practice of Prayer ............................................................................................................................. 24 Turning the Wheel .................................................................................................................................. 26 Idols of the Heart .................................................................................................................................... 29 Hatching the Egg ..................................................................................................................................... 30
Appendix ............................................................34
Knowing Your God .................................................................................................................................. 35 The World Must Be Shown ..................................................................................................................... 36 Building the House .................................................................................................................................. 41 Those Who Treasured Trials ................................................................................................................... 42 The Praying Christ ................................................................................................................................... 43 Morning Needs ....................................................................................................................................... 50 Evening Prayer ........................................................................................................................................ 51
Grace in Trials ......................................................................................................................................... 52 Sixth Day Evening: The Mediator ............................................................................................................ 53 Desires .................................................................................................................................................... 55 The Broken Heart .................................................................................................................................... 56 Weaknesses ............................................................................................................................................ 57 Voyage .................................................................................................................................................... 58 Note on Isaiah 40:27-31 (abridged) ........................................................................................................ 59 When the Music Stops ............................................................................................................................ 61
References ..........................................................63
Module Overview
The title of this course is Steps of Faith: Recovering from Heartbreak. It is intended to be a guide for a one-on-one or group counseling, and outlines six steps on the road to recovery from heartbreak. In the context of this curriculum, I am liberating the term heartbreak from its traditional confines of romantic-type loss, and opening it up to include, in addition to its traditional distinction, a plethora of similar circumstances, including loss of a loved-one, change of general circumstances, or any other trial that is difficult to bear. The goal of this course is to realign the counselees perspective from one of despair and frustration to an outlook of thankfulness, trust, and hope. I have designed this curriculum to be used as a ten-session counseling intensive (which would typically last ten weeks), but it could also be used as a personal study. Throughout the various trials of my short life, I have been bothered by the fact that many of the books and studies that claim to guide one through trials handle the difficult topics they bring up with an deliberately academic, impersonally careless tone. The delicate topics of the heart must be handled very personally, very carefully, always from the personal experience of the author or counselor. At some point in their lives, everyone experiences heartbreak to a certain degree, and many people have turned to substance abuse, self-injury, or other escapes, rather than turning to the God who authored their lives, trials and all. Over the course of the study, the counselee will be reading portions of several books, including Secure in the Everlasting Arms by Elisabeth Elliot, Valley of Vision, and of course, the Bible. The counselor may choose to have these books on hand to lend to his counselees, but I believe that it would be most beneficial if the counselee would purchase each book for himself so that he can mark them up and make them his own. The counselee will also compile a journal of thoughts, prayers, verses, excerpts from the reading, etc, that can be used as they continue through their Christian life to help others who are encountering similar trials. I formatted this module so that there would be a total of six weeks of teaching/lecture/and discussion interspersed with four weeks of discussion and student-
led workshops. These workshops are designed specifically for use with a counseling group or one-on-one situation, and will be more difficult to use if you are going through the module by yourself. If you are going through the module by yourself, you may wish to skip these weeks all together, since I have not included any new material or homework for those weeks. If you are in a one-on-one counseling situation, you may use this as a time where the counselee and counselor essentially switch roles, and the counselee teaches the counselor what he has discovered through the past week. This helps the counselee because teaching something to someone is one of the best ways to solidify content in the mind. It can also be a wonderful blessing for the counselor; I recommend taking notes, because you will learn much from your counselee if they truly put their heart into what they tell you. Listening to their side can give you new insight into how different people deal with and react to different problems which is very valuable to your future counseling situations. If you are in a group counseling situation, divide the counselees into several small groups of no more than two or three people and have them teach each other and discuss what they have learned. (You may wish to assign people to permanent groups of two or three, and they can be accountability partners as well as workshop groups.) The counselor should float from group to group, listening and adding insights. Each group should boil down what they have learned to a short presentation which they can then share with the entire class at the end. In these lessons, I have left most of the Biblical content for the counselee to complete in the homework portions of the study with only a couple of examples in the content for scaffolding purposes. I purposefully designed this study in that way because I believe that students learn more through their own work and study than when everything is already outlined for them and handed to them on the proverbial silver platter. I tried to keep the lesson content constrained to illustrations and analogies that would spark not only interest and a desire to learn more, but also to fuel active discussions between group members, counselor/counselee, etc. I also designed the homework to be formatted in such a way that it is more structured in the first few weeks of the study, and less structured as the counselee proceeds through the course. This allows the counselee to begin to form his own habits of
Bible study and journaling while still begin supported to an extent with the study, in hopes that when he completes the study he will maintain his habits without having to change methods from having so much depended on this study. The homework for the weeks of discussion should be to repeat the homework for the week before, this week with the added insights of their classmates. Doing things a second time always throws into relief things that one did not see the first time, and it is on that understanding that I highly recommend to duplicate the homework two weeks in a row.
Assessment
The homework is assigned for each week at the end of the lessons. For the most part, homework consists of daily readings and journaling. Because of the nature of this course, assessment is difficult, essentially impossible, in fact. Overall, I do not recommend grading in this type of a course. However, in situations which require formal assessment, students will be assigned completion grades upon presentation of completed and thorough (to the digression of the counselor) journal entries, three 3x5 cards for each day of the week, and the counselees word that they completed all of the daily readings. I recommend that each day be worth six points, following the breakdown of points listed in the table below. Each week would then be worth forty-two points, and the entire course therefore worth four-hundred-twenty points. This would be then graded on a ten-point scale, where 90+ = A, 80+ = B, etc. with a C as a passing grade. 2 points 3 points 1 point Reading requirements completed 3x5 cards (must have at least 3) Journal entry
Content
~Step 1~
Who is this God and does He care?

Objective: The counselee will reaffirm their theology while studying the way that Gods character affect his attitude and actions towards us.
hen you are going through a trial, you often feel that you are the only one who has experienced this level of pain. In reality, however, trials are an inseparable part of the human life. If you are not in the throes of a trial right
now, you are either breathing a sigh of relief from have just exited one or, hold on another one is coming. Trials are never static in their effect in your life; they always change you, bringing you either closer to God or taking you farther from Him. In fact, they are tools that God uses in your life to try you; thats why we call them trials. Through difficult times God in a sense puts us on trial, testing our trust, realigning our priorities, looking for evidence that we are in fact entirely sold out to Him. Imagine God in Heaven, watching your little life unfolding on this speck of dust that we call home, seeing you bump along the path of life in your merry little way, listening to your trivial wishes for this or that floating up out of the clouds. What does that God wish for you? Incredible contentment. Endless joy. In our human wisdom, we think that the way to be more content is to have more, that the way to have endless joy is to never experience sorrow. How wrong we are. In Gods wonderful sovereignty, though, He knows that having is inversely related to contentment, and that sorrowful experiences are inversely related to joy. This loving Father, Who indeed wants contentment and joy for His helpless children (as any parent would), sends us trials, that through loss we should find contentment, and through sorrow, joy. Discuss and examine the first of eight points that Mrs. Berg outlines in her handout: God is limitless in His love; He is too loving ever to reject me. Jeremiah 31:3, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:35-39
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Over the course of this study you will be keeping a journal of your thoughts, feelings, and the things that really hit home, so to speak, in your heart. As you continue taking the steps of faith that I have outlined, you will be able to look back and see the growth and be able to praise God for the grace that you will see manifested in your life. Write honestly in your journal, recording high points and low points alike. Start each journal entry with the date and the hour. Start a new entry in your journal, and record the answers to the questions that are asked about each passage. Be thoughtful and thorough. (The counselee may find some of these questions difficult to answer, depending upon their state of mind. You may need to really work with them to help them see the more positive sides of a seemingly very dark and ominous cloud, but be patient. The more you get them thinking along these lines, the more they will begin to change their thought patterns themselves, and that is when their heart will begin to change as well.) I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. ~Jeremiah 31:3 ESV How has God shown in your life that He loves you? How has God demonstrated His faithfulness in your life? In what way could this trial be a demonstration of Gods love? In what way could this trial be a demonstration of Gods faithfulness? How does this realization of Gods love and faithfulness change how you perceive this trial?
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~Romans 5:8 ESV How does consideration of the fact that Christ died for you change your perspective of this trial?
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Christ died for you, shed His blood for you WHILE you were sinning, in spite of the fact that from your first breath you begin to run from Him, and, in a sense, you never stop running until the day you die. Yet, He loved you so much that even while you are betraying Him, He still loves you with an everlasting love, and sacrificed the ultimate sacrifice for you: His life. How does this consideration change your perspective?
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:35-39 ESV Does your distress fall under one of the categories mentioned in verse 35? Through whom are we more than conquerors? Him who loved us How can His love make you more than a conqueror in this circumstance that you are now facing? Can anything separate you from the love of God? Even this trial? How can this realization change your perspective?
Write down any more thoughts regarding the love of God and its influences on your perspective in your journal. This is a model for how you should continue through the handout for the next week. Homework: Reading: Each day for the next week, meditate on one of the statements about God on the handout for at least fifteen minutes immediately after getting up in the morning. Write each
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of the three verses on 3x5 cards and carry them with you throughout the day, meditating on them in difficult moments. Before you go to bed each night, read through all of the verses and statements that you have covered thus far. Follow this with several minutes in prayer, thanking God for Who He is, and verbally reaffirming your trust in Him, no matter how it feels. Journaling: Each day, write an entry in your journal outlining how that days statement directly applies to the trial you are facing. Try to focus on changing your perspective about your circumstances, even if you dont yet feel your heart changing. It is necessary to take the first steps of faith in expressing this change if you are to ever truly feel a heart change.
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~Discussion~
Theology
Answer the following question through extensive discussion: What did I learn about God this week? How does this knowledge specifically apply to my situation?
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~Step 2~
Building the House

Objective: The counselee will begin to restructure their thought patterns from ones of faithless lack of trust to faithful trusting through an understanding of the importance and essence of faith and trust.
here is something hopeful and exciting about driving through a new neighborhood. Often much of the land that will become the neighborhood is rough, the hardened mud crisscrossed with tire tracks, scrubby brush growing in
places; when you just look these bleak, empty lots, the thought of a thriving neighborhood with sidewalks and children, young trees and flowerbeds seems very distant. Then, at the end of one muddy track, a foundation is poured, and the skeletal infant of a house is erected, standing bare and bony against the sky; although still rather uninhabitable, a glimmer of hope begins to grow that someday there will be a family living there. As the weeks and months pass, the elements of the house come together, never all at once, but one at a time. Then finally, the first house is completed, and next to those other undeveloped lots it stands, complete with a chimney, velvety lawn, flowerbeds, and a mailbox. Suddenly the potential for the rest of the muddy, vacant field seems to be glowing from that single house. Eventually, after a year or so, the neighborhood will be bustling, sparkling, and new, and the thought of that dingy field will have vanished entirely; but that doesnt just happen. Someone someplace had to stop by that field, possibly covered in trees and brush, maybe growing corn, full of rocks and boulders, muddy and useless, and see the potential that it would have once developed. Someone had to look at wasnt there and see what could be there before any of those changes could take place. That is faith. Along the same lines of thought, the process of recovery from heartbreak can be viewed as analogous to building a house. If the last steps consideration of and elaboration on Gods attributes was the foundation, then trust can be viewed as the skeletal frame of the house, upon which all the other things that make it beautiful and habitable are hung . It
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is all fine and good to decide on the kind of carpet that you want in your house, but if you put the carpets in before the roof and walls, then it would get all wet and would be ruined. It is wonderful to decide that you want the house to have brick walls and a clay-tiled roof, but if you dont have the frame to put them on, then at the slightest breeze the walls would fall, and at the first hint of gravitational pull the roof would cave in. Just in the same way, if we work on having all these wonderful Christian attributes but do not have the foundation of knowledge of God and the frame of trust upon which to hang them, they will crumble at the least little trial that comes our way. The process of healing from heartbreak is really no different than the process of the rest of the Christian life; in general, it is a process that can be viewed as building a house of faith. Often, we decorate the inside of our houses, so that other Christians come and visit with us (through surface-level interaction) and admire the decorative elements. The carpet, or the color scheme, or the pictures on the walls could be compared to our seeming happiness, generosity, or a good work ethic. This is the mindset that often wrongly motivates us to be an usher at church, or to sing a solo during the service, even to preach a sermon, or to cook a meal and take it to someone else. This is the mindset of If other people think Im a good Christian, I must be. If there is nothing holding them up, however, it is weak; paint on air, pictures hanging on nothing, carpet soggy and wet in the rain. Now I am going to take this analogy to the next step. One does not build a house to shelter them from fair weather and balmy breezes. One builds a house to shelter them from the blazing heat and thunderous rain storms of summer, the bone-shattering cold and blizzards of winter. The house is built with insulation against both cold and heat, a roof against the rain, a door against weird people who would otherwise walk right in, all hung on a frame designed to withstand all manner of natural disasters. In the same way, the Christian life should be designed to withstand the trials that God sends our way. Like I said at the conclusion of the last lesson, God gives us trials to try our faith and trust in him. He sends storms to try the walls and the roof and the frame of our house; the integrity of the beautiful elements inside is only as good as the walls, roof, and frame. For the remainder of this lesson, we will be discussing faith and trust, and how to make our frame strong enough to withstand the trials that God sends our way.
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The Bible is full of the true stories of people and their trials. One common thread that can be traced through every single story is that each Biblical figure is presented with the choice to trust God or not. An interesting exercise is to go through each Bible story and try to subtract or add trust to the equation and imagine how it could have turned out differently. In my imagination, the story of Noah would be told this way: God: Noah, it is going to rain very hard so that a flood covers the entire earth. I need you to build a boat to my specifications and then gather together a male and female of every kind of animal, and get in the ark, or every living thing will die. Noah: What is rain? (Because it is believed that until this point there had never been rain as we know it today) God: Its when water falls out of the sky. Hurry, because it is coming, and time is short. Noah: But thats ridiculous. How would water get up in the sky, in the first place? If I throw up water, or try to suspend water in the air, it just falls immediately down. How would so much water be up in the sky that when it all came down it would flood the entire earth? It doesnt make sense, and besides, I have these crops to get in before the winter comes, or then we will really die. So forget all this nonsensical stuff about this rain; Im going to do what I know I need to do to survive. Narrator: So then Noah went on in his own way, and the skies opened up as God had foretold, and it did not stop raining day nor night for forty days, and even the highest peak of the tallest mountain was covered in the flood waters. Every living thing died; not one escaped. Now read the true Biblical account of what actually happened: And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its
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breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them." Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground." And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him. The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
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~Genesis 6:12-7:5, 17-24ESV When you really think about what God was asking Noah to do, it indeed sounded quite ridiculous, but only on the human level. In hindsight we can be very thankful that Noah was a man of faith, even when the things he was asked to do made no sense. One of the readings for this week is the chapter entitled The World Must Be Shown from Elisabeth Elliots book, Secure in the Everlasting Arms, which can be found in the Appendix. In this chapter, she makes a statement about faith that is so true: Faith is a decision. It is not a deduction from the facts around us. We would not look at the world of today and logically conclude that God loves us. It doesnt always look as though He does. Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feelingfeelings dont help much when youre in the lions den or hanging on a wooden Cross. Faith is not inferred from the happy way things always work. It is an act of the will, a choice, based on the unbreakable Word of a God who cannot lie, and who showed us what love and obedience and sacrifice mean, in the person of Jesus Christ. The crux of this chapter is, as the title says, that the world must be shown. Returning to the original analogy of this chapter, we, the Christians, are the completed house, standing shiny and beautiful in the midst of a muddy field. That is the objective, but that is not where we often are in our Christian walk. Right now, you are at a point of trial. You are at the point where your house is not yet quite built. We have poured the foundation by reaffirming what we believe about who God is, but now it is time to erect the frame of the house. This week you will be focusing on learning to trust. In the appendix, you will find a handout detailing what you are to read and journal each day this week.
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~Discussion~
Trust and Faith

Answer the following question through extensive discussion: This week, what did I do to demonstrate trust and faith? What parts of the frame of Christianity did I erect?
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~Step 3~
The Treasure of Trials

Objective: The student will demonstrate an understanding of why it is important to view trials as great gifts from God, and will demonstrate, through a weeks journal entries, an increasing thankfulness to God for every circumstance, good or bad, in his life.
eing thankful for a trial as it is happening is probably one of the hardest steps there is to overcoming it, but it is almost more important than trusting. It entails the surrender of every vestige of ourselves that we cling to when we feel we have
nothing else. We must surrender our view of good. We must say, God, this does not feel good; this does not look good; in no way from my human perspective can this be seen as remotely good. But I thank you for it, because it must be good, because You are good. We must admit that we are limited in our perspective. We must realize that we are not the masters of our own fates. Truly, however, it is a privilege to be counted worthy of a trial. That sounds absurd. Worthy to endure suffering? Yes. The ultimate goal of the Christian is not to suffer. It is to die. Our goal is to die to ourselves, our feelings, our pain, our desires, to die to ourselves. For when we die to ourselves, we live unto Christ, and that is the goal of the Christian. *****Dying to ourselves = living unto Christ. There is no other way to live for Christ. You cannot give your way into living for Christ. You cannot serve your way into living for Christ. You must die. Suffering and trials are a part of this death. As you begin to experience the pain of rejection or loss, you begin to see other things that were once very important to you fade in significance. And soon, as you recover and the pain subsides into a dull ache, even it becomes secondary to the grace of God that begins to be manifest in your life. For instance, if you get a paper cut on the index finger of your right hand, it really hurts. It is a nuisance; it hurts when you try to type or read or cook or wash dishes. In fact, immediately when it happens it REALLY hurts. But, if while you are experiencing this pain
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of a paper cut on your right index finger, you accidentally chop your entire left index finger off, then the fact that you have a paper cut on your right hand doesnt even register in your brain. Now suppose that you put the severed finger in a plastic bag and put it on ice, as recommended by health professionals, and go to a surgeon and he reattaches it, stitching it back onto the base of your hand as it should be, and pinning the bones back together. Now, the reconstruction still probably hurts almost as much as the original injury, but the pain now has a purpose that is positive: it is healing. You stop concentrating on the pain and begin to concentrate on changing the dressing and putting on the appropriate salves to promote healing. Now lets suppose that you accidentally chop of your right arm. Now the finger seems pretty insignificant. I will not continue this gory theme of chopping off body parts, because Im sure that you get the point. A trial that can seem huge one day (paper cut) can seem really insignificant the next day when something bigger and worse comes along (finger cut off). In a sense, you are dying to yourself and your former perceptions of what hurts when you acknowledge that the missing finger hurts more than the paper cut. You must also acknowledge that the surgeon that is fixing the finger knows what he is doing. If you went to him with a paper cut, it would be ludicrous to start drilling holes in bones and sticking in pins and screws, or even sticking in stitchesthe remedy would be out of proportion to the injury. But at the same time, it would be ridiculous to insist on sticking your finger back onto your hand with a band aid, as you would with a paper cut. However, many people do not view trials as logically as they would view paper cuts or amputated fingers. They go through a more major trial, and then try to slap a band aid on it. This band aid might be something bad, like turning to substances or self-mutilation, but it could also be something neutral or good, like absorbing their mind with other things (television, books, movies, audiobooks, etc), keeping themselves really busy with work or ministry, chocolate (this is my personal downfall), or some other temporary fix. It might work for a while, but when the movie ends, when all the work is done, when all the chocolate has melted away, you are left, trapped by the thoughts that youve been trying to push away by yourself. This analogy also brings up another point. We must realize and not be shocked by the fact that there are healing phases associated with trials. God designed us this way. This
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does not mean that we should mourn for years or months if we lose someone we love. This means that we should accept the fact that there is a healing period, and that part of this healing period may include painful events, just as the surgery to reattach the pain would in the immediate just cause more pain. Just because you are facing a trial does not mean that you are a horrible person who deserves nothing but Hell. (In fact, this is true, but it is not something that I intend to cover here.) It also doesnt mean that God is up in heaven peering down saying Behold my servant, (insert your name) and allowing Satan to test you. It means that you were counted worthy to share in a miniscule portion of the suffering that Christ encountered between Jerusalem, Golgotha, and the tomb. That is the greatest honor that any Christian can ever be granted. This week you will be studying the lives of five men and women of God who encountered various types of trials. See this weeks handout in the appendix.
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~Discussion~
Thankfulness
Answer the following question through extensive discussion: What are some ways that I learned to manifest thankfulness this week? In what ways did I mimic or avoid the practices of the five men and women I learned about?
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~Step 4~
The Practice of Prayer

Objective: The counselee will see an increasing significance of prayer in their lives through spending a significant amount of time each day praying.
am a pianist. In high school, it was my goal to become a professional pianist, and I dreamed of earning a doctorate in some discipline related to piano. Because I had this goal set before me, I sat and stared at sheet music all day. I listened to recordings of
piano music ad nauseam. I talked about the piano. I read about the piano. Everything I did was absorbed with my obsession with the piano. None of this would have gotten me anywhere near begin a professional pianist, however, if I hadnt practiced the piano. Yes, it was important to be able to recognize even the most obscure works of the great composers. Certainly it was helpful to know how to read music. I know that I probably annoyed a lot of people with my incessant talking about all things piano. None of this helped me play the piano, however. In order to learn to play the piano, I spent hours and hours a day practicing the piano. I practiced strengthening exercises for my left hand, because it was too weak to play the music that I eventually wanted to play. I practiced scales and arpeggios until they became second nature. I practiced pieces of music, some of them for pure enjoyment, some just because I knew that they would help me, some because it was a challenge that I intended to master. If I had spent six hours a day talking and reading about the piano and listening to the piano, and only 2 minutes practicing, would I ever have learned to play anything? I can confidently say no. I would never have had the thrill of the feeling that comes from learning a complicated piece of music note-perfect and performing it with flair. You are a Christian. You read the Bible. You listen to good sacred music. You talk about God. You read other books about God and the Christian life. You absorb yourself in ministry. But you dont pray, or you pray only for a few minutes each day. You, my dear friend, will never become a strong Christian who truly knows, loves, and trusts God. You will never truly experience the fullest and most wonderful parts of the Christian life. Prayer is the practice of the Christian life. There is no other way to really know God, to really understand His power or His presence.
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Jesus Christ is the human being (since He was fully human and fully divine) that we can point to as having the closest relationship with God the Father. Let us examine His life and His pattern of prayer that He followed to be an example for us. I have included in the Appendix an article by Alexander Maclaren called The Praying Christ. For the remainder of this in-class time, please read that either individually, or take turns reading it aloud. The homework for this week is to pray through various prayers of the Valley of Vision. I have included seven of these prayers in the appendix, but I highly recommend purchasing the entire book. Choose one prayer a day. The selections included in the appendix are some of my favorite prayers, but there are topics to match every need, so pick those that match your circumstances if you have access to them. Follow these steps when praying through these prayers: 1. In your journal, write the title of the prayer you selected for that day 2. Spend time finding Scripture passages that are parallel to different phrases or ideas in the prayer and list them in your journal. You also may want to write them in the margin of the prayer, next to the corresponding phrase 3. Write out different phrases that jump out at you and reflect upon why they are meaningful 4. Pray through the prayer, not mindlessly reading, but inserting your own thoughts and the Scripture passages that you found, applying it to your situation as you pray. You may choose to write out your entire prayer, perhaps you will want to pray while alone in your room, perhaps while on a walk someplace, and you may want to speak your prayers aloud.
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~Step 5~
Turning the Wheel

Objective: The counselee will develop an understanding of how holding onto idols of the heart will block the evidence of Gods grace in their life, and will record a weeks worth of journal entries detailing the steps that they are going to take in removing this idol from their life.
here once was a man who lived at and operated a little mill tucked away next to a little stream in the woods of Pennsylvania. It looked like a little picture, a stone cottage hugged by a little water-wheel turning easily in the water of the stream.
But one day, the miller noticed that his mill was not producing as much as it should have. He went outside and walked around the cottage and looked at the water wheel, noticing that it was not turning as it should have been. Not knowing what else to do, he sighed, shrugged his shoulders, decided to start trying to turn the wheel by himself. He waded down into the water and sloshed over to the wheel, and began exerting an exorbitant amount of effort to make it turn faster. After a day of this back-breaking effort to make his mill produce, it was Sunday, and in church he told his neighbors about the water-wheel, describing the soreness he felt and showing them his chafed and raw hands, worn from trying to turn the wheel himself. They all tsk-tsked and shook their heads, brows wrinkled in polite concern. One man offered to help him turn the wheel, so that next week the man called a few of his friends, and they tried to help him turn the wheel, but it still did not produce enough energy to properly fuel the mill. The productivity of the mill did not justify the amount of labor that the men were putting into turning the wheel, so after a day they finally gave up and went home. The man was discouraged, and began to walk in the woods, up the path next to the little stream. He walked and he walked, head held low, scuffing his feet along in the matted leaves. Then he came to a point where a tree had fallen across the trail; discouraged, he got frustrated and tried to walk around it. It was then that he noticed that it had fallen across the creek as well at a fork, and other bits of debris and plant matter had collected in its branches and were acting as a dam across the branch of the creek that went to his mill, leaving the surplus water to rush down the other route. This was why his wheel wasnt turning! With surprising energy, he turned and ran down the path to his
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cottage, returning in a few minutes with his axe. After a couple hours of chopping and clearing, the dam broke apart and the water again rushed into his branch of the creek, and when he got back to his mill, it was turning just as well as it had always done. This is kind of a silly little story of a silly little man who tried to fix the product of the problem rather than fixing the root of the problem. We smile at his foolishness, and wonder why he didnt notice that the water was low before. How often do we, however, attempt to turn the water-wheel of our own Christian life, forcing ourselves to be productive rather than trying to clear the dam that has blocked off our acceptance of the flow of Gods grace into our lives? More often than we want to admit. One way that a dam can form is by skipping a day or more of our personal time with God. Another thing that can block the stream of grace is holding onto the things that God is trying to take from our lives. It might be a person, a job, a sinful habit, a situation, or a dream. If we try to hold onto it when God says, No, their presence in our lives can begin to collect other sins, just as the branches of the tree caught the other debris in the stream. Often instead of going to the root of the problem and removing the tree from our stream, we go out and try to turn our own water wheel. We serve others, are faithful to church, tithe and sacrifice, read our Bibles, fast excessively, but none of these things turn our wheel enough for our mill to be productive. Discussion Guide: (follow this loosely; use these questions only as absolutely necessary; allow the counselee to apply this illustration to their situation with as little scaffolding as possible ) What is blocking your stream? What steps do you have to take to remove it so that Gods grace can flow through you, turning your wheel and making you productive once again? In your journal, outline 5-7 steps that fit your situation. I have some examples below: o Do not watch a certain television show or movie or listen to certain music because it reminds me of this thing that is blocking my stream o Do not go to certain places o Do not talk about certain things Homework: This week you are going to keep up consistent daily Bible reading of your choice (I recommend the Gospels, but you are free to choose), and your daily journaling
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should reflect this habit, but also you are going to concentrate as well on the steps that you outlined in your journal. Take one each day and really focus on it. Find corresponding verses that will help you form new habits so that you follow the steps above. You may find that you need to spend more than one day on some of the steps. Overall, you are going to have to spend weeks on these steps, but this week will be the hardest, and therefore should consist of the most intense effort. You may also have to revise your strategy. Be flexible this week and journal everything you try, everything you feel, everything you think. Read your previous journal entries for this week each morning and try to notice patterns that cause you to become more discouraged or add to your dam.
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~Discussion~
Idols of the Heart

Answer the following question through extensive discussion: In what ways have I been turning my own wheel? What things did I do this week that were actively involved in removing idols from my life?
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~Step 6~
Hatching the Egg

Objective: The counselee will develop an understanding of how patience has its perfect work shown through a weeks worth of journal entries.
n our culture, we are obsessed with instant gratification. We want faster microwaves, faster internet, faster cars. We make instant oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes, instant pudding. Everything we do is done at breakneck speed and we get what we want as
fast as we can. In many ways, this has increased our productivity as a culture, but in many other ways, this mindset has undermined the thought patterns that should be characteristic of every Christian. Hens always lay their clutch of eggs in a series, and they never lay more than one or two per day. When a fertilized egg (one that is hatch-able) is laid, the embryo (baby chick) inside the egg will remain viable (or alive) for about two weeks without being incubated (sat on and kept warm by the chicken). This allows the chicken to lay a full clutch (batch) of eggs one or two at a time before she begins incubating them, allowing her to lead a relatively normal life before she begins brooding (sitting on the nest), which requires her to be on the nest essentially all day, every day. Over this time, she eats very little so as to minimize the time that is spent away from her eggs. Once she does begin to brood, the eggs all incubate at the same rate, and will hatch approximately at the same time about twentyone days later. The hen does not, in one sitting, lay all the eggs that she will ever lay; rather she lays them one at a time, day by day. She lays several until she has just enough to hatch, never more than she can easily sit on and incubate. After the eggs are laid, the hen is predominantly passive rather than active; primarily, her role in the developing of the chicks inside the eggs is to patiently sit and wait. A hen does not despair of ever eating or leading an active life again. She does not think that the entirety of her life is going to be spent sitting on that nest enduring the brooding period of her motherhood. Sitting there, she demonstrates a confidence that in twenty-one days, her patience, fasting, and self-
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sacrifice will reward her with a brood of beautiful little chicks. Once the chicks have hatched, she does not continue to sit on the empty egg shells but turns her attention on her chicks, enjoying the products of her patience. In a sense, we all are hens sitting on eggs that represent the events of our lives. God does not simultaneously give us every trial, small and large, that he has planned for us over the course of our lives. He gives us the exact number of trials that he knows we can hatch or deal with at once, and he has created in us a capacity to endure the exact number of trials that he puts into our path. (II Cor 12:9) God gives us grace to deal with the trials that he has given us for today, and not enough to deal with any more than he has planned. At times, it can feel like God has not given us enough grace to deal with what we have to deal with, but this is not an indication of the deficiency of Gods generosity. Rather, it points to our stubbornness in holding onto yesterdays trials or in anticipating tomorrows difficulties. We need to realize that in our walk as Christians, our role is largely similar to that of the brooding hen. We can see this in the example of Jobs life: his trials were none of his own doing and he had no control over them as they unfolded in his life. Job set a wonderful example for us, similar to the brooding hen: he patiently waited to see what end result God would bring from his trials. As we have amply discussed before, God puts trials in our lives to test our trust in him, and patience is simply another aspect of trust. When we are in a trial, it is easy to slip into the mentality that we are going to be dealing with this same dark cloud for the rest of our lives in the same way. In reality, however, the period of hatching the egg gives way to a period of growth, renewal, and rebirth. We may feel as though we are eternally stuck on the nest, unable to get nourishment or relief; but is this is not the case. God has built into the Christian experience a default of relief: this relief is called Heaven. Even if a trial does not ever end during our time on earth, it will eventually cease to the point of our forgetting that it ever existed. Often, however, the trial will cease even during our life on earth (but usually another trial follows closely on its heels). Relief may also come in the form of a change of mindset about
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the trial, as I discussed in the chapter on thankfulness. The point of this whole thing is: you must sit on the nest and wait patiently for the relief, in whatever form it comes. Now let us take a trip to the ridiculous side of this analogy. What if a hen woke up one morning after laying the last egg of her clutch and said to herself, I know I can find a better way to do this so I dont have to sit here for three weeks and starve myself. I will smash them open now, and that will make it easier for all of us! Then I wont have to sit here and the chicks wont have to go through the trouble of breaking the shells open at the end; a win-win situation for everyone if you ask me! With that, she starts smashing her eggs, one by one. She would not get too far before the horrible error would be very apparent: the chicks were not ready to come out of the eggs, and all that the hen now has is a gooey, sticky mess instead of the fluffy, beautiful little chicks she would have had if only she had been patient. You may smile a little or even laugh at the ridiculousness of the hens reasoning; but, if you are honest with yourself, how often have you been guilty of that very same reasoning? God has designed our world to operate on a very carefully balanced system of time and space. Each moment of our lives unfolds by itself with no help from us, Matthew 6:27 assures us. When we are discontent with having to wait for each moment and event (whether a trial or some greatly anticipated experience) to hatch, and we begin to meddle with Gods perfectly designed plans, we leave ourselves with nothing but a mess, losing out on the reward that could have been ours if only we had waited. Patience. That is what this all boils down to. Patience and waiting on God. The Bible spends much time talking about being patient and discussing the lives of people who led in both good and bad examples of patience. I have already mentioned Job as an example of one who demonstrated great patience. Another man who was patient during a trial was Joseph: Sold into slavery but patiently endured until he was promoted to head of the house Sent to prison wrongfully but patiently endured until he was released and made to be a ruler
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Prepared for a famine and patiently endured both seven years of plenty and seven years of hunger, his patience through all fourteen years being, in a carnal sense, the thing that saved his country as well as the surrounding peoples from starvation.
Perhaps one of the most famous Biblical passages along the theme of waiting on God would be Isaiah 40:29-31. I would expound upon this passage here, but while researching, Matthew Henrys Commentary provided a wonderful explanation of this passage, and I have provided it in the Appendix. Homework: The homework for this week is simple. In the Appendix I have included a chapter from Elisabeth Elliots book Secure in the Everlasting Arms which has a lovely analogy for and a fresh new perspective on patience and waiting on God. Read this chapter, and journal what you think it means to you. Additionally, you should choose one of the Epistles (I recommend James, Philippians, or Colossians) and read it through in one sitting every day this week, once in the morning and once in the evening. In the morning, write the verses that stand out to you on 3x5 cards. In the evening, journal how it has affected you that day, how it relates to your life, things you need to change based upon the reading of it, etc. By the end of the week you will be very familiar with which ever book you have chosen, and have the concepts, if not entire chunks of the book, memorized.
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Appendix
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Knowing Your God

By Mrs. Pat Berg
One of the most important studies you can ever do is a study on the character of God. This study, by by Pat Berg, will get you started toward knowing some foundational truths about God. Memorize the statement about God and then choose two or three of the verses following the statement to memorize. Meditate on the verses. Write your thoughts down in a notebook. *Italicized verse references are mine; while going through tough times I added many verses to this handout that helped me, so I have added them to what Mrs. Berg already provided. -ln
God is good 1. God is limitless in His Love; He is too loving to ever reject me. Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 5:8; Romans 8:35-39 2. God is limitless in His compassion; He is too compassionate to ever be uncaring Psalm 86:15; Lamentations 3:32-33; Psalm 103 11-14; Psalm 1-3:2-5 3. God is limitless in his faithfulness; He is too faithful to ever leave me. Isaiah 41:10; I Thessalonians 5:24; Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 89:28, 33 4. God is limitless in His provision; He is too generous to ever withhold anything that I need. Philippians 4:19; Psalm 84:10, 11, 12; Psalm 34:9 God is great. 5. God is limitless in His power; He is too powerful to ever fail. Ephesians 3:20; Luke 1:37; Jeremiah 32:17 6. God is limitless in His knowledge; He is too knowledgeable to ever be caught by surprise. Psalm 139:1-4; Romans 11:33-36; Proverbs 15:3 7. God is limitless in His presence; He is too near to ever be late in coming to my rescue. Psalm 46:1; Psalm 139: 7-10; Jeremiah 23:24 8. God is limitless in His wisdom; He is too wise to ever make a mistake. Psalm 18:30; Romans 11:33-34; I Corinthians 1:25
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The World Must Be Shown

from Secure in the Everlasting Arms by Elisabeth Elliot ne afternoon more than forty years ago I was sitting in a hammock in a little thatched house in eastern Ecuador. On the floor sat Minkayi, an Auca Indian, telling a story into the plastic microphone of a little old-fashioned tape recorder.
This is what he was saying: One morning I had gone a short distance in my canoe when I heard the knocking of another mans canoe pole. It was Dabu. Are you going home? I asked him. Yes, he said,Naenkiwi says those foreigners are cannibals. Later I found Gikita and Dyuwi putting red dye on their spears, getting them ready. Naenkiwi says those foreigners are going to eat us, they told me. I still had not dyed my spears, but when the afternoon came they had all dyed theirs and I was just sitting there. Finally I told my mother to go down and bring my spears up so I could dye them. Just bring a few, I said, and off she went. I asked Naenkiwi how many spears he had. Two hard ones and two lightweight ones, he said. Minkayis story ran to six pages. He got pretty excited, telling me how he and five other men had ambushed five white men one afternoon on the Curaray River. He described the journey to the beach, up hills, across rivers, through an old clearing where he had once seen a jaguar, finally reaching the place where a small airplane had landed. He said one of these foreigners was walking up and down on the beach, calling out, Puinani! E ati puinani! which means Come! Come as friends! Come without harm! But we rushed at them with our spears and war cries, Minkayi said, making the vivid sound of spears striking living flesh. He spared none of the details of the long struggle, the suffering, and the Indians final victory when five white men lay dead. It seemed impossible to me that this cheerful, friendly man had killed my husband. He picked up Jim Elliots picture from the top of the kerosene box that served as my bookcase. Look at him smiling at us! he said. If we had known him as we know you, hed be sitting here, smiling at us today! A cannibal! We thought he was a cannibal! The absurdity of it struck him funny. A big grin broke over his face.
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There was nothing new to MInkayi about killing people. He and others had done it countless times. If you think you are going to be eaten you protect yourself somehow. I thought of Jesus words when He was about to leave His disciples: The time is coming when anyone who kills you will suppose he is performing a religious duty. They will do these things because they do not know either the Father or me. I have told you all this so that when the time comes for it to happen that you may remember my warning. I have told you this to guard you against the breakdown of your faith. Jesus did not want his disciples to put their faith in the wrong places. The reminded them in no uncertain terms that things happenthings we dont plan. What kind of certainty, what sort of protection, can we expect if were realistic? The world talks about securities. That usually means money in some form or other, and we all know that money insures nobody against anything. What they call life insurance is really death insurance death and taxes are two things we can count on. You may insure your house and it gets robbed or burned down or the roof blows off or termites chew it to bits. You pay for health insurance and then you get some weird disease that isnt covered. Somebody rear-ends your car and sues you because there was ice on the road. But what about us Christians? Have we some guarantees? If we really pray hard enough and go to church and read the Bible and all that, dont we have a right to expect that the worse disasters will miss us and things wont be quite so bad for us as they are for everybody else? Once upon a time some Indians sharpened up their spars and then used them on some Christian men who had hoped to give them the Word of God. Those men knew that death was a possibility. They sang a hymn together: We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender. The territory was dangerous but they went in obedience to Jesus Christ, trusting that He would give them success. But Aucas know how to throw spears. Could God have prevented those spears from reaching their targets? Yes. Did He? No. Mystery is something we must all come to terms with. If God were small enough to be understood He would not be big enough to be worshipped (Evelyn Underhill). Dr. J. I. Packer says, The popular idea of faith is of a certain obstinate optimism: the hope, tenaciously held in the face of trouble, that the universe is fundamentally friendly and
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things may get better. I would have had to be an optimist of the most incorrigible obstinacy to have held onto that sort of faith in the dark times of my own life. It has been the faith of the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me that has held me in the darkest valley and the hottest fires and the deepest waters. He too went down to death for our sakes. He too was misunderstood, doubted, hated, and finally nailed to a cross. Packer says faith requires a going out to, laying hold of, and resting upon the object of its confidence. What we need to see today is that if the object of our confidence is the blueprint weve worked out for ourselves, were in trouble. If the blueprint doesnt work, the faith doesnt work. If what we call our faith means what we think God ought to do about things, it wont last long if He doesnt do it our way. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan His work in vain. God is his own interpreter, and He will make it plain. How do you suppose Daniel felt about having to be dumped into that den of starving lions? What about his friends who were tied up and heaved into a blazing furnace? What about Paul, who was beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, and imprisoned? Well of course the endings of those stories were happythe lions didnt eat Daniel, the furnace didnt burn up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and Paul survivedfor a while. But then there was John the Baptist who had his head chopped off because he was obeying his Lord and Master. Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the gospel. The bok of Hebrews tells about people who were sawn in two because of their faith! And shall we forget the price our sinless Savior paid for our redemption? He was captured, blindfolded, slapped, punched, whipped, stripped, crowned with thorns, and nailed to a wooden Cross with real iron nails. Think about that. The real question we need to face is exactly what a Christian is supposed to do when terrible things happen. There are two choices and only two: W can trust God or we can defy Him. We believe that God is God, Hes still got the whole world in His hands and knows exactly what Hes doing, or we must believe that He is not God and we are at the awful mercy of mere chance. Jesus did not promise physical safety for His disciples. He did not expect it for Himself. Just before His death He said, I shall not talk much longer with you, for the Prince of this world approaches. You know who that was: Satan, of course, coming to gloat over
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Jesus capture and betrayal and crucifixion. It was going to happen for sure. Jesus knew it. But listen to what he said next: He has not rights over me, but the world must be shown that I love the Father and do exactly what he commands. Satan was given permission for a while. Satan is allowed to do appalling things today too. For a while. Divine permission is given for many frightening thingsfor a while. But Christians know what the end will bethe kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever. But in the meantime, the world must be shown. There has to be living proof that some men and women today actually love God and will do exactly what He says. My husband and I have been in India, china, Mongolia, and many other countries. In each country we meet people who, because of the story of five American missionaries killed by the Aucas, have committed themselves unreservedly to Christ. Faith is a decision. It is not a deduction from the facts around us. We would not look at the world of today and logically conclude that God loves us. It doesnt always look as though He does. Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feelingfeelings dont help much when youre in the lions den or hanging on a wooden Cross. Faith is not inferred from the happy way things always work. It is an act of the will, a choice, based on the unbreakable Word of a God who cannot lie, and who showed us what love and obedience and sacrifice mean, in the person of Jesus Christ. So while we live and work, the world must be shown, uncompromisingly, clearly, unapologeticallyas Daniel and Paul and five young missionaries and Jesus Himself demonstratedthat we love God and will by His grace obey. For most of us, it will not mean lions dens or Auca spears or imprisonment, but it will mean a daily, faithful, humble, glad obedience to the same Lord who has held steady all those who commit themselves to Him. It will mean the choice between faith and unbelief, between being honest on your income tax or cheating just a little bit, between keeping your virginity until marriage or giving it away to somebody you arent married to. It will mean the willingness to stand against what everybodys doing and what everybody says is OK. It will mean the surrender of what the world calls safety, and the acceptance of whatever sacrifice and suffering God may choose to send. He is not finished with any of us. He assigns me new lessons every day. When I have disobeyed it has led to misery. When I have obeyed
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it has brought me joy. The story is Gods story. The end will be glorious beyond our wildest dreamsfor those who put their trust in Him. Do it! Choose Jesus Christ! Deny yourself, take up the Cross, and follow Himfor the world must be shown. The world must see, in us, a discernible, visible, startling difference. Put your trust in Him. Not in people or circumstances or dreams or programs or plans, not in any human notion of what will or wont happen, but in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Daniel and all the othersthe God whose Son went through the darkest valleys so that you and I might be saved. If somebody was willing to give his life for you, would you trust him? Of course you would. Jesus loved you then. He loves you now. Hell be loving you every minute of every hour of every day of the rest of your life, and no matter what happens, nothing can separate you from that love. I know its true. I have found that sure and steadfast Refuge in my Lord and Saviorthe only real safetythe Everlasting Arms! Ive walked with God a long time. I know He keeps his promises.
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Building the House

Each morning, the very first thing you should do is reflect on the passages that have been prescribed for that day. Write at least three verses from those passages that stand out to you most on 3x5 cards to carry with you throughout your day. In the evening, reflect again over that days passages and write your thoughts in your journal. Try to reflect upon how those passages relate to your situation, and focus on changing your thought patterns concerning your trial.
Day 1
Morning Meditation: Psalm 13, Daily Reading: The World Must Be Shown (Also journal your thoughts about this chapter; how can you relate to E.E.s experiences? Reflect on how her attitude is similar to or different than yours. Quote anything that stands out to you.)
Day 5
Morning Meditation: Psalm73, 84 Daily Reading: Romans 12
Day 6
Morning Meditation: Psalm 89, Proverbs 3 Daily Reading: Ruth (whole book)
Day 2
Morning Meditation: Psalm 16, 46; Daily Reading: Jeremiah 29
Day 7
Morning Meditation: Psalm 103 Daily Reading: Journal Entries from this week (Write an entry on your journal summarizing everything that you have learned from this week, things that have stuck with you, verses that have been especially helpful, etc.)
Day 3
Morning Meditation: Psalm 55, 56 Daily Reading: Joshua 6 (Jericho)
Day 4
Morning Meditation: Psalm 62, 66 Daily Reading: Genesis 22 (Abrahams Sacrifice of Isaac)
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Those Who Treasured Trials

This week we will be studying the lives of various Biblical persons who encountered trials and treated them as a treasure. Each morning, the very first thing you should do is reflect on the passages that have been prescribed for that day. Answer the following questions in your journal: 1. How did the person/people I read about today show/not show thankfulness? 2. In what way was their trial a treasure either to themselves or others? 3. What was the root of the trial? (What caused it to happen?) 4. Is there a way that they could have reacted differently that would have made it turn out better/worse? 5. How is this persons situation similar or different to my own? 6. In which way should I/shouldnt I reflect their attitudes?
Day 1-4 Job Job 1-10 Job 11-20 Job 20-31 Job 32-42 Day 5 Ruth and Naomi The Book of Ruth Day 6-7 Jacob/Joseph Genesis 37-47
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The Praying Christ

from Expositions of Holy Scripture by Alexander Maclaren
... As He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray.' Luke 11:1 t is noteworthy that we owe our knowledge of the prayers of Jesus principally to the Evangelist Luke. There is, indeed, one solemn hour of supplication under the quivering shadows of the olive-trees in Gethsemane which is recorded by Matthew and Mark as
well; and though the fourth Gospel passes over that agony of prayer, it gives us, in accordance with its ruling purpose, the great chapter that records His priestly intercession. But in addition to these instances the first Gospel furnishes but one, and the second but two, references to the subject. All the others are found in Luke. I need not stay to point out how this fact tallies with the many other characteristics of the third Gospel, which mark it as eminently the story of the Son of Man. The record which traces our Lord's descent to Adam rather than to Abraham; which tells the story of His birth, and gives us all we know of the 'child Jesus'; which records His growth in wisdom and stature, and has preserved a multitude of minute points bearing on His true manhood, as well as on the tenderness of His sympathy and the universality of His work, most naturally emphasises that most precious indication of His humanityHis habitual prayerfulness. The Gospel of the King, which is the first Gospel, or of the Servant, which is the second, or of the Son of God, which is the fourth, had less occasion to dwell on this. Royalty, practical Obedience, Divinity, are their respective themes. Manhood is Luke's, and he is ever pointing us to the kneeling Christ. Consider, then, for a moment, how precious the prayers of Jesus are, as bringing Him very near to us in His true manhood. There are deep and mysterious truths involved with which we do not meddle now. But there are also plain and surface truths which are very helpful and blessed. We thank God for the story of His weariness when He sat on the well,
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and of His slumber when, worn out with a hard day's work, He slept on the hard wooden pillow in the stern of the fishing-boat among the nets and the litter. It brings Him near to us when we read that He thirsted, and nearer still when the immortal words fall on our wondering ears, 'Jesus wept.' But even more precious than these indications of His true participation in physical needs and human emotion, is the great evidence of His prayers, that He too lived a life of dependence, of communion, and of submission; that in our religious life, as in all our life, He is our pattern and forerunner. As the Epistle to the Hebrews puts it, He shows that He is not ashamed to call us brethren by this, that He too avows that He lives by faith; and by His lifeand surely pre-eminently by His prayers declares, I will put my trust in Him.' We cannot think of Christ too often or too absolutely as the object of faith; and as the hearer of our cries; but we may, and some of us do, think of Him too seldom as the pattern of faith, and as the example for our devotion. We should feel Him a great deal nearer us; and the fact of His manhood would not only be grasped more clearly by orthodox believers, but would be felt in more of its true tenderness, if we gave more prominence in our thoughts to that picture of the praying Christ. Another point that may be suggested is, that the highest, holiest life needs specific acts and times of prayer. A certain fantastical and overstrained spirituality is not rare, which professes to have got beyond the need of such beggarly elements. Some tinge of this colours the habits of many people who are scarcely conscious of its presence, and makes them somewhat careless as to forms and times of public or of that of private worship. I do not think that I am wrong in saying that there is a growing laxity in that matter among people who are really trying to live Christian lives. We may well take the lesson which Christ's prayers teach us, for we all need it, that no life is so high, so holy, so full of habitual communion with God, that it can afford to do without the hour of prayer, the secret place, the uttered word. If we are to 'pray without ceasing,' by the constant attitude of communion and the constant conversion of work into worship, we must certainly have, and we shall undoubtedly desire, special moments when the daily sacrifice of doing good passes into the sacrifice of our lips. The devotion which is to be diffused through our lives must be first concentrated and evolved in our prayers. These are the gathering-grounds which feed the river. The life that was all one long prayer needed the mountain-top and the nightly
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converse with God. He who could say, 'The Father hath not left Me alone, for I do always the things that please Him,' felt that He must also have the special communion of spoken prayer. What Christ needed we cannot afford to neglect. Thus Christ's own prayers do, in a very real sense, 'teach us to pray.' But it strikes me that, if we will take the instances in which we find Him praying, and try to classify them in a rough way, we may gain some hints worth laying to heart. Let me attempt this briefly now. First, then, the praying Christ teaches us to pray as a rest after service. The Evangelist Mark gives us, in his brief, vivid way, a wonderful picture in his first chapter of Christ's first Sabbath-day of ministry in Capernaum. It was crowded with work. The narrative goes hurrying on through the busy hours, marking the press of rapidly succeeding calls by its constant reiteration'straightway,' 'immediately,' 'forthwith,' 'anon,' 'immediately.' He teaches in the synagogue; without breath or pause He heals a man with an unclean spirit; then at once passes to Simon's house, and as soon as He enters has to listen to the story of how the wife's mother lay sick of a fever. They might have let Him rest for a moment, but they are too eager, and He is too pitying, for delay. As soon as He hears, He helps. As soon as He bids it, the fever departs. As soon as she is healed, the woman is serving them. There can have been but a short snatch of such rest as such a house could afford. Then when the shadows of the western hills began to fall upon the blue waters of the lake, and the sunset ended the restrictions of the Sabbath, He is besieged by a crowd full of sorrow and sickness, and all about the door they lie, waiting for its opening. He could not keep it shut any more than His heart or His hand, and so all through the short twilight, and deep into the night, He toils amongst the dim, prostrate forms. What a day it had been of hard toil, as well as of exhausting sympathy! And what was His refreshment? An hour or two of slumber; and then, 'in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed' (Mark 1:35). In the same way we find Him seeking the same repose after another period of much exertion and strain on body and mind. He had withdrawn Himself and His disciples from the bustle which Mark describes so graphically. 'There were many coming and going, and
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they had no leisure, so much as to eat.' So, seeking quiet, He takes them across the lake into the solitudes on the other side. But the crowds from all the villages near its head catch sight of the boat in crossing, and hurry round; and there they all are at the landing-place, eager and exacting as ever. He throws aside the purpose of rest, and all day long, wearied as He was, 'taught them many things.' The closing day brings no respite. He thinks of their hunger, before His own fatigue, and will not send them away fasting. So He ends that day of labour by the miracle of feeding the five thousand. The crowds gone to their homes, He can at last think of Himself; and what is His rest? He loses not a moment in 'constraining' His disciples to go away to the other side, as if in haste to remove the last hindrance to something that He had been longing to get to. 'And when He had sent them away, He departed into a mountain to pray' (Mark 6:46; Matthew 14:23). That was Christ's refreshment after His toil. So He blended contemplation and service, the life of inward communion and the life of practical obedience. How much more do we need to interpose the soothing and invigorating influences of quiet communion between the acts of external work, since our work may harm us, as His never did Him. It may disturb and dissipate our communion with God; it may weaken the very motive from which it should arise; it may withdraw our gaze from God and fix it upon ourselves. It may puff us up with the conceit of our own powers; it may fret us with the annoyances of resistance; it may depress us with the consciousness of failure; and in a hundred other ways may waste and wear away our personal religion. The more we work the more we need to pray. In this day of activity there is great danger, not of doing too much, but of praying too little for so much work. These twowork and prayer, action and contemplationare twin-sisters. Each pines without the other. We are ever tempted to cultivate one or the other disproportionately. Let us imitate Him who sought the mountaintop as His refreshment after toil, but never left duties undone or sufferers unrelieved in pain. Let us imitate Him who turned from the joys of contemplation to the joys of service without a murmur, when His disciples broke in on His solitude with, 'all men seek Thee,' but never suffered the outward work to blunt His desire for, nor to encroach on the hour of, still communion with His Father. Lord, teach us to work; Lord, teach us to pray. The praying Christ teaches us to pray as a preparation for important steps.
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Whilst more than one Gospel tells us of the calling of the Apostolic Twelve, the Gospel of the manhood alone narrates (Luke 6:12) that on the eve of that great epoch in the development of Christ's kingdom, 'He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.' Then, 'when it was day,' He calls to Him His disciples, and chooses the Twelve. A similar instance occurs, at a later period, before another great epoch in His course. The great confession made by Peter, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,' was drawn forth by our Lord to serve as basis for His bestowment on the Apostles of large spiritual powers, and for the teaching, with much increased detail and clearness, of His approaching sufferings. In both aspects it distinctly marks a new stage. Concerning it, too, we read, and again in Luke alone (ix.18), that it was preceded by solitary prayer. Thus He teaches us where and how we may get the clear insight into circumstances and men that may guide us aright. Bring your plans, your purposes to God's throne. Test them by praying about them. Do nothing large or newnothing small or old either, for that mattertill you have asked there, in the silence of the secret place, 'Lord, what wouldest Thou have me to do?' There is nothing bitterer to parents than when children begin to take their own way without consulting them. Do you take counsel of your Father, and have no secrets from Him. It will save you from many a blunder and many a heartache; it will make your judgment clear, and your step assured, even in new and difficult ways, if you will learn from the praying Christ to pray before you plan, and take counsel of God before you act. Again, the praying Christ teaches us to pray as the condition of receiving the Spirit and the brightness of God. There were two occasions in the life of Christ when visible signs showed His full possession of the Divine Spirit, and the lustre of His glorious nature. There are large and perplexing questions connected with both, on which I have no need to enter. At His baptism the Spirit of God descended visibly and abode on Jesus. At His transfiguration His face shone as the light, and His garments were radiant as sunlit snow. Now on both these occasions our Gospel, and our Gospel alone, tells us that it was whilst Christ was in the act of prayer that the sign was given: 'Jesus being baptized, and praying, the heaven was
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opened, and the Holy Ghost descended' (iii.21, 22). 'As He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistening' (ix.29). Whatever difficulty may surround the first of these narratives especially, one thing is clear, that in both of them there was a true communication from the Father to the man Jesus. And another thing is, I think, clear too, that our Evangelist meant to lay stress on the preceding act as the human condition of such communication. So if we would have the heavens opened over our heads, and the dove of God descending to fold its white wings, and brood over the chaos of our hearts till order and light come there, we must do what the Son of Man didpray. And if we would have the fashion of our countenances altered, the wrinkles of care wiped out, the traces of tears dried up, the blotches of unclean living healed, and all the brands of worldliness and evil exchanged for the name of God written on our foreheads, and the reflected glory irradiating our faces, we must do as Christ didpray. So, and only so, will God's Spirit fill our hearts, God's brightness flash in our faces, and the vesture of heaven clothe our nakedness. Again, the praying Christ teaches us to pray as the preparation for sorrow. Here all the three Evangelists tell us the same sweet and solemn story. It is not for us to penetrate further than they carry us into the sanctities of Gethsemane. Jesus, though hungering for companionship in that awful hour, would take no man with Him there; and He still says, 'Tarry ye here, while I go and pray yonder.' But as we stand afar off, we catch the voice of pleading rising through the stillness of the night, and the solemn words tell us of a Son's confidence, of a man's shrinking, of a Saviour's submission. The very spirit of all prayer is in these broken words. That was truly 'The Lord's Prayer' which He poured out beneath the olives in the moonlight. It was heard when strength came from heaven, which He used in 'praying more earnestly.' It was heard when, the agony past and all the conflict ended in victory, He came forth, with that strange calm and dignity, to give Himself first to His captors and then to His executioners, the ransom for the many. As we look upon that agony and these tearful prayers, let us not only look with thankfulness, but let that kneeling Saviour teach us that in prayer alone can we be forearmed against our lesser sorrows; that strength to bear flows into the heart that is
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opened in supplication; and that a sorrow which we are made able to endure is more truly conquered than a sorrow which we avoid. We have all a cross to carry and a wreath of thorns to wear. If we want to be fit for our Calvarymay we use that solemn name?we must go to our Gethsemane first. So the Christ who prayed on earth teaches us to pray; and the Christ who intercedes in heaven helps us to pray, and presents our poor cries, acceptable through His sacrifice, and fragrant with the incense from His own golden censer. 'O Thou by whom we come to God, The Life, the Truth, the Way; The path of prayer Thyself hast trod; Lord! teach us how to pray.'
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Morning Needs
from The Valley of Vision O GOD THE AUTHOR OF ALL GOOD, I come to Thee for the grace another day will require for its duties and events. I step out into a wicked world; I carry about with me an evil heart. I know that without Thee I can do nothing, that everything with which I shall be concerned, however harmless in itself, may prove an occasion of sin or folly, unless I am kept by Thy power. Hold Thou me up and I shall be safe. Preserve my understanding from subtilty of error, my affections from love of idols, my character from stain of vice, my profession from every form of evil. May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore Thy blessing, and in which I cannot invite Thy inspection. Prosper me in all lawful undertakings, or prepare me for disappointments. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, Who is the Lord? or be poor, and steal, and take Thy name in vain. May every creature be made good to me by prayer and Thy will. Teach me how to use the world and not abuse it, to improve my talents, to redeem my time, to walk in wisdom toward those without, and in kindness to those within, to do good to all men, and especially to my fellow Christians. And to Thee be the glory
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Evening Prayer
from The Valley of Vision O LOVER OF THY PEOPLE, Thou hast placed my whole being in the hands of Jesus, my Redeemer, Commander, Husband, Friend, and carest for me in Him. Keep me holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners; May I not know the voice of strangers, but go to Him where He is, and follow where He leads. Thou hast bathed me once for all in the sin-removing fountain, cleanse me now from this day's defilement, from its faults, deficiencies of virtue, harmful extremes, that I may exhibit a perfect character in Jesus. O Master, who didst wash the disciples' feet, be very patient with me, be very condescending to my faults, go on with me till Thy great work in me is completed. I desire to conquer self in every respect, to overcome the body with its affections and lusts, to keep under my flesh, to guard my manhood from all grosser sins, to check the refined power of my natural mind, to live entirely to Thy glory, to be deaf to unmerited censure and the praise of men. Nothing can hurt my new-born inner man, it cannot be smitten or die; nothing can mar the dominion of Thy Spirit within me; it is enough to have Thy approbation and that of my conscience. Keep me humble, dependent, supremely joyful, as calm and quiet as a sucking child, yet earnest and active. I wish not so much to do as to be, and I long to be like Jesus; if Thou dost make me right I shall be right; Lord, I belong to Thee, make me worthy of Thyself.
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Grace in Trials
from The Valley of Vision FATHER OF MERCIES, Hear me for Jesus sake. I am sinful even in my closest walk with thee; it is of thy mercy I died not long ago; Thy grace has given me in the cross by which thou hast reconciled thyself to me and me to thee, drawing me by thy great love, reckoning me as innocent in Christ though guilty in myself. Giver of all graces, I look to thee for strength to maintain them in me, for it is hard to practise what I believe. Strengthen me against temptations. My heart is an unexhausted fountain of sin, a river of corruption since childhood days, flowing on in every pattern of behaviour; Thou hast disarmed me of the means in which I trusted, and I have no strength but in thee. Thou alone canst hold back my evil ways, but without thy grace to sustain me I fall. Satans darts quickly inflame me, and the shield that should quench them easily drops from my hand: Empower me against his wiles and assaults. Keep me sensible of my weakness, and of my dependence upon thy strength. Let every trial teach me more of thy peace, more of thy love. Thy Holy Spirit is given to increase thy graces, and I cannot preserve or improve them unless he works continually in me. May he confirm my trust in thy promised help, and let me walk humbly in dependence upon thee, for Jesus sake.
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Sixth Day Evening: The Mediator

from The Valley of Vision O GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB, We hope in thy Word. There we see thee, not on a fearful throne of judgment, But on a throne of grace waiting to be gracious and exalted in mercy. There we hear thee saying, not Depart ye cursed, but Look unto me and be ye saved, for I am God and there is none else. They that know thy name put their trust in thee. How many now glorified in heaven, and what numbers living on earth, are thy witnesses, O God, exemplifying in their recovery from the ruins of the Fall the freeness, riches and efficacy of thy grace! All that were ever saved were saved by thee, and will through eternity exclaim, Not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and truths sake. Thou hast chosen to transact all thy concerns with us through a Mediator in whom all fullness dwells and who is exalted to be Prince and Saviour. To him we look, on him we depend, through him we are justified. May we derive relief from his sufferings without ceasing to abhor sin, or to long after holiness; feel the double efficacy of his blood, tranquillizing and cleansing our consciences; delight in his service as well as in his sacrifice; be constrained by his love to live not to ourselves but to him; cherish a grateful and cheerful disposition,
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not murmuring and repining if our wishes are not indulged, or because some trials are blended with our enjoyments, But, sensible of our desert, and impressed with the number and greatness of thy benefits, may we bless and praise thee at all times.
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Desires
from The Valley of Vision O THOU THAT HEAREST PRAYER, Teach me to pray, I confess that in religious exercises the language of my lips and the feelings of my heart have not always agreed, that I have frequently taken carelessly upon my tongue a name never pronounced above without reverence and humility, that I have often desired things which would have injured me, that I have depreciated some of my chief mercies, that I have erred both on the side of my hopes and also of my fears, that I am unfit to choose for myself, for it is not in me to direct my steps. Let thy Spirit help my infirmities, for I know not what to pray for as I thought. Let him produce in me wise desires by which I may ask right things, then I shall know thou hearest me. May I never be importunate for temporal blessings, but always refer them to thy fatherly goodness, for thou knowest what I need before I ask; May I never think I prosper unless my soul prospers, or that I am rich unless rich toward thee, or that I am wise unless wise unto salvation. May I seek first thy kingdom and its righteousness. May I value things in relation to eternity, May my spiritual welfare be my chief solicitude. May I be poor, afflicted, despised and have thy blessing, rather than be successful in enterprise, or have more than my heart can wish, or be admired by my fellow-men, if thereby these things make me forget thee. May I regard the world as dreams, lies, vanities, vexation of spirit, and desire to depart from it. And may I seek my happiness in thy favour, image, presence, service.
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The Broken Heart

from The Valley of Vision O LORD, No day of my life has passed that has not proved me guilty in thy sight. Prayers have been uttered from a prayerless heart; Praise has been often praiseless sound; My best services are filthy rags. Blessed Jesus, let me find a covert in thy appeasing wounds. Though my sins rise to heaven thy merits soar above them; Though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell, thy righteousness exalts me to thy throne. All things in me call for my rejection, All things in thee plead my acceptance. I appeal from the throne of perfect justice to thy throne of boundless grace. Grant me to hear thy voice assuring me: that by thy stripes I am healed, that thou wast bruised for my iniquities, that thou hast been made sin for me that I might be righteous in thee, that my grievous sins, my manifold sins, are all forgiven, buried in the ocean of thy concealing blood. I am guilty, but pardoned, lost, but saved, wandering, but found, sinning, but cleansed. Give me perpetual broken-heartedness, Keep me always clinging to thy cross, Flood me every moment with descending grace, Open to me the springs of divine knowledge, sparkling like crystal, flowing clear and unsullied through my wilderness of life.
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Weaknesses
from The Valley of Vision O Spirit of God, Help my infirmities; When I am pressed down with a load of sorrow, perplexed and knowing not what to do, slandered and persecuted, made to feel the weight of the cross, help me, I pray thee. If thou seest in me any wrong thing encouraged, any evil desire cherished, any delight that is not thy delight, any habit that grieves thee, any nest of sin in my heart, then grant me the kiss of thy forgiveness, and teach my feet to walk the way of thy commandments. Deliver me from carking care, and make me a happy, holy person; Help me to walk the separated life with firm and brave step, and to wrestle successfully against weakness; Teach me to laud, adore, and magnify thee, with the music of heaven, And make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude to thee. I do not crouch at thy feet as a slave before a tyrant, but exult before thee as a son with a father. Give me power to live as thy child in all my actions, and to exercise sonship by conquering self. Preserve me from the intoxication that comes of prosperity; Sober me when I am glad with a joy that comes not from thee. Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom, not asking whether the road be rough or smooth. I request only to see the face of him I love, to be content with bread to eat, with raiment to put on, if I can be brought to thy house in peace.
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Voyage
from The Valley of Vision O LORD OF THE OCEANS, My little bark sails on a restless sea, Grant that Jesus may sit at the helm and steer me safely. Suffer no adverse currents to divert my heavenward course; Let not my faith be wrecked amid storms and shoals; Bring me to harbor with flying pennants, hull unbreached, cargo unspoiled. I ask great things, expect great things, shall receive great things. I venture on thee wholly, fully, my wind, sunshine, anchor, defense. The voyage is long, the waves high, the storms pitiless, but my helm is held steady, thy Word secures safe passage, thy grace wafts me onward, my haven is guaranteed. This day will bring me nearer home. Grant me holy consistency in every transaction, my peace flowing as a running tide, my righteousness as every chasing wave. Help me to live circumspectly, with skill to convert every care to prayer. Halo my path with gentleness and love, smooth every asperity of temper; let me not forget how easy it is to occasion grief; may I strive to bind up every wound, and pour oil on all troubled waters. May the world this day be happier and better because I live. Let my mast before me be the Saviors cross, and every oncoming wave the fountain of his side. Help me, protect me in the moving sea until I reach the shore of unceasing praise. Amen
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Note on Isaiah 40:27-31 (abridged)

from Matthew Henrys Commentary by Matthew Henry
2. He gives strength and power to his people, and helps them by enabling them to help themselves. He that is the strong God is the strength of Israel. (1.) He can help the weak, Isa. 40:29. Many a time he gives power to the faint, to those that are ready to faint away; and to those that have no might he not only gives, but increases strength, as there is more and more occasion for it. Many out of bodily weakness are wonderfully recovered, and made strong, by the providence of God: and many that are feeble in spirit, timorous and fainthearted, unfit for services and sufferings, are yet strengthened by the grace of God with all might in the inward man. To those who are sensible of their weakness, and ready to acknowledge they have no might, God does in a special manner increase strength; for, when we are weak in ourselves, then are we strong in the Lord. (2.) He will help the willing, will help those who, in a humble dependence upon him, help themselves, and will do well for those who do their best, Isa. 40:30, 31. Those who trust to their own sufficiency, and are so confident of it that they neither exert themselves to the utmost nor seek unto God for his grace, are the youth and the young men, who are strong, but are apt to think themselves stronger than they are. And they shall faint and be weary, yea, they shall utterly fail in their services, in their conflicts, and under their burdens; they shall soon be made to see the folly of trusting to themselves. But those that wait on the Lord, who make conscience of their duty to him, and by faith rely upon him and commit themselves to his guidance, shall find that God will not fail them. [1.] They shall have grace sufficient for them: They shall renew their strength as their work is renewed, as there is new occasion; they shall be anointed, and their lamps supplied, with fresh oil. God will be their arm every morning, Isa. 33:2. If at any time they have been foiled and weakened they shall recover themselves, and so renew their strength. Heb. They shall change their strength, as their work is changeddoing work, suffering work; they shall have strength to labour, strength to wrestle, strength to resist, strength to bear. As the day so shall the strength be. [2.] They shall use this grace for
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the best purposes. Being strengthened, First, They shall soar upward, upward towards God: They shall mount up with wings like eagles, so strongly, so swiftly, so high and heavenward. In the strength of divine grace, their souls shall ascend above the world, and even enter into the holiest. Pious and devout affections are the eagles wings on which gracious souls mount up, Ps. 25:1. Secondly, They shall press forward, forward towards heaven. They shall walk, they shall run, the way of Gods commandments, cheerfully and with alacrity (they shall not be weary), constantly and with perseverance (they shall not faint); and therefore in due season they shall reap. Let Jacob and Israel therefore, in their greatest distresses, continue waiting upon God, and not despair of timely and effectual relief and succour from him.
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When the Music Stops

from Secure in the Everlasting Arms by Elisabeth Elliot
here are sometimes spaces in our lives that seem empty and silent. Things grind to a halt for one reason or another. Not long ago, in the space of a few days, the music in my life seemed to stop because of a rejection, a loss, and what seemed
to me at the time to be a monumental failure. I was feeling rather desolate when I came across a paragraph written more than a hundred years ago by the artist John Ruskin: There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it. In our whole lifemelody, the music is broken off here and there by rests, and we foolishly think we have come to the end of time. God sends a time of forced leisuresickness, disappointed plans, frustrated effortsand makes us a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives and we lament that our voices must be silent, and our part is missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of our Creator. How does the musician read the rest? See him beat time with unvarying count and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breaking place had come between. Not without design does God write the music of our lives. But be it ours to learn the time and not be dismayed at the rests. They are not to be slurred over, nor to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we look up, God Himself will beat time for us. With the eye on Him we shall strike the next note full and clear. So the Lord brought to me precisely the word I needed at the moment: There was the making of music in what seemed a hollow emptiness. Its His song, not mine, that Im here to sing. Its His will, not mine, that Im here to do. Let me focus my vision unwaveringly on Him who alone knows the complete score, and in the night his song shall be with me (Psalm 42:8, KJV) The following was given to me many years ago by my dear Aunt Anne Howard. I wish I knew the author:
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Help me to live this day quietly, easily; To lean upon Thy great strength trustfully, restfully; To meet others peacefully, joyously; To face tomorrow confidently, courageously.
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References
Bennett, A. (1975). Valley of vision. Carlisle: PA: Banner of Truth. Berg, P. (n. d.) Knowing your God Elliot, E. (2002). Secure in the everlasting arms. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell. Henry, M. (n. d.) Commentary on the whole Bible. Retrieved from http://www.biblegateway.com /passage/?search=Isaiah+40%3A29-31&version=ESV Maclaren, A. (n. d.) Expositions of Holy Scripture. Retrieved from http://christianbookshelf.org/ maclaren/expositions_of_holy_scripture_e/the_praying_christ.htm

Steps of Faith: Recovering From Heartbreak

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Running Head: STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Steps of Faith: Recovering from Heartbreak Lynn Nelson Spring, 2012

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Table of Contents Module Overview ................................................ 4

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Who is this God and does He care?

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Building the House

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Trust and Faith

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

The Treasure of Trials

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

The Practice of Prayer

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Turning the Wheel

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Idols of the Heart

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Hatching the Egg

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Knowing Your God

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

The World Must Be Shown

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Building the House

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

Those Who Treasured Trials

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

The Praying Christ

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK

STEPS OF FAITH: RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK