Growing Episodes

The Apostle Paul was distressed, buffeted by Satan. Evidently, Paul's practice of buffeting his body was insufficient to keep him humble. Paul prayed three times for relief from the thorn in his flesh, and when the answer came back, (no) My grace is sufficient for you, Paul's response was: "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 The...

We have seen the futility of trying to manipulate God from His will through the error of Balaam. We have also seen the glory of God as He answers the particular prayer of Abraham's servant in an eerily precise way. Today, we will see God answer our prayers even as they may be vague, but He knows our hearts and grants even those imprecise prayers, even as He answers our specific prayers as He knows the deepest desires of our hearts. To His glory, He knows what we need, and although He answers d...

God’s abundant life is learned through prayer. In the book "Devoted to God" by Sinclair Ferguson writes of God's perfect will: "The Lord is the Master of the jigsaw puzzle of our lives. The pieces may be strangely shaped; often we cannot see how they fit together; but eventually when the big picture is complete we will see that each piece was perfectly shaped. He leads us by ways we could not have guessed, into situations we never expected, to fulfill purposes we could never have imagined." "...

One correction - I mention Isaiah 66:2 in this episode. When I said it, I should have listened to myself. (Now I know what Cathy feels like.) The verse I had in mind was Isaiah 65:24 "It will also come to pass that I will answer before they call; while they are still speaking, I will hear. So think about that verse when you hear Isaiah 66:2 (which is a great verse, too.) We have also republished a companion Episode: "Personal/Powerful Prayer Lessons - God is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Fo...

My best days are many times sleepless nights. God has often made the most resounding impact on His hard-headed slave -me- through sleepless nights wrestling with Him. This delayed episode is just one occasion of God's work on a dull hearer. We will see how dangerous it is to believe we pray primarily to get what we want. We follow Balak and Balaam as they persist in prayer, which is clearly against God's will. Ploy 1: Everyone thinks it's a good idea. Ploy 2: Really distinguished men think...

After the visit of my son-in-law Derek and my daughter Casaundra, chop liver compared to Seven, Lincoln, French, and Freddie, my grandbabies, my heart was full, and I was convicted over how I let the myriad mercies go by almost unnoticed. After this break, we begin with a prayer based on Psalm 33. A prayer of renewal, joy, and worship of our Holy God, Savior, Comforter, refuge, and strength. Psalm 33:20 "Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart rejoices in ...

This is the first revision of our Signature Episode; it is worth a listen, even if you have heard the previous one. In examining the Duty, Glory, and Excellency of prayer, we are reminded that: I am a Sinner. Being human means being complex beyond what we can express or understand. We are lonely beings because of our sins. Added and expanded from our original episode: We are reminded of the essence of sin: "Sin always aims for the worst: each time it tempts or entic...

Editor's note (that's Fred) We have had some life stuff in the providence of God and s little none-sense of Fred, which have delayed this episode. For the providence of Almighty God, we are thankful. As per my none-sense, I edited this a little differently this time, and instead of the process being shorter, it was much longer. I am sorry and was about to say I'll not be doing that again, but Richard has already told me a time or two or 321, "Don't make promises you can't keep! So, I'll tr...

In examining the question, "What is Prayer?" We accidentally learn why we pray. Even though no Biblical person asks why we pray? Their lives reveal our anguished need for prayer. We are sinners. Until glory, we struggle with sin. Prayer is the act of faith that assures our soul. We are complex lonely beings, and prayer brings us into the arms of our heavenly Father, who knows us, holds us, and comforts us. Some of my favorite prayers: Hannah, 1 Samuel 1. Fathers calling out for their child...

It is not any hyperbole or overstatement to say prayer puts all He has done for my soul into proper perspective. His promises of eternal life have been affirmed as only could be, by sincere converse, prayer, and the word, with my Savior. Part of what we have labeled "the grammar of prayer" we have talked about: The Foundation - our relationship with Almighty God. The Frame - The Holy Spirit and Faith. Today, in general, we know the Holy Ghost is our teacher and leader, who convicts us of our...

In examining the question, "What is Prayer?" We accidentally learn why we pray. Even though no Biblical person asks why we pray? Their lives reveal our anguished need for prayer. We are sinners. Until glory, we struggle with sin. Prayer is the act of faith that assures our soul. We are complex lonely beings, and prayer brings us into the arms of our heavenly Father, who knows us, holds us, and comforts us. Some of my favorite prayers: Hannah, 1 Samuel 1. Fathers cal...

After a Fight, Fall, Fight, I experienced a Funeral. It was the funeral of my dad. The worst tragedy of my life. You can listen to the series in order. Personal/Powerful Prayer Lesson published March 20, 2023. Personal/Powerful Prayer Lesson 2 - The Fight, from March 28. The Fall was posted on April 14. The Flight is on April 28. God worked all those together, along with an accident, a letter, and a reminder, "Dad, you're my hero.." To save the soul of my dad. The breadth and length, height a...

God answered my prayer in the third quarter of 1984 and sent Cathy and me back to Phoenix to continue and finish my education. On the way back, we desired to fish and camp from Boise to northern Idaho and visit with every friend who wanted to join us. Our desire would never come to pass. God used a broken deal at work, a broken truck, broken ribs, whiplash, and a necessary recovery time to provide the most profound comfort I would ever need after the saddest event I have yet to experience. Go...

I cannot get enough of J.C. Ryle’s dedication and wisdom. Catching us back up, Bishop Ryle has been illustrating “eminent” Christians, and as he finishes up with these examples he encourages us with: “Depend on it, prayer is power.” We then turn to today’s exhortation: “Prayer obtains fresh and continued outpourings of the Spirit. He alone begins the work of grace in a man’s heart. He alone can carry it forward and make it prosper. But the good Spirit loves to be entreated. And those...

“The consideration of these things has long engaged me to attend to this matter, with the utmost diligence and care, and exactness of search and inquiry, that I have been capable of. It is a subject on which my mind has been peculiarly intent, ever since I first entered on the study of divinity. But as to the success of my inquiries it must be left to the judgment of the reader of the following treatise.” ( Warning: I got a little excited, and ruffled papers, and perhaps overstated. The Lord kn...

“The consideration of these things has long engaged me to attend to this matter, with the utmost diligence and care, and exactness of search and inquiry, that I have been capable of. It is a subject on which my mind has been peculiarly intent, ever since I first entered on the study of divinity. But as to the success of my inquiries it must be left to the judgment of the reader of the following treatise.” The price of knowledge is eternal review. With that in mind, we are reviewing some of the ...

Prayer is never to be constrained by form. If we are to expect in our communication with others, “only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:9b We can indeed know, our God, who knows our frame, will hear us when our need of the moment is so great, we abandon all formality. 30 But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus ...

We have been created, by our blessed God, as a unique creation fit for eternal communion with Him, being moved by His divine power and attributes; we were meant to understand the glory of God and enjoy who He is for all eternity. We have inherited one other trait from Adam, the enmity between our Creator and ourselves. However, by the mercies of God and our Savior's blood, we have been born again into a new creature. Our new creation longs for intimate conversation with God, as naturally as b...

Mid-Week Review 2: Just Talk to God Matthew 11:28-30 28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." and… 1 Peter 5 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you. It is hard t...

The price of knowledge is eternal review - Don’t ask. I cannot remember precisely who I stole that from. I am convinced as Christians as we, from time to time, struggle with the old ennui, it is our soul longing for a more intimate connection with our Savior. Even the fabulous face we may turn around and see is not really what our new inner-man is longing for. If we say with the Scriptures: As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, f...

The sweet prayer, “The Valley of Vision” begins with The confession: Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by the mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. It ends with the cry of our souls as we plead for what the trip to the valley will teach us: Let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley, We gain insights from...

We have episodes of teaching, encouragement, and devotionals. We are now adding to the mix, shows on mentoring. Hot clam chowder teaches us, having a mentor is always a plus! Critical to mentoring is communication. As the Free Range Preacher moves forward, you can not only contact us at Freerangeprayer@gmail.com, but follow us also on Facebook at Free Range Preacher Ministries, and https://www.instagram.com/freerangeministries/ All ways we are trying to find better ways to serve and mentor in ...

Our prayers will be transformed as we learn of God and His word. As we move from our fleshly life-selfish and physical-into conformity to the image of our Savior-selfless and spiritual-our prayers will conform to His concerns as well. Growth in prayer helps take the pressure off and allows it to grow naturally as God wills for us Psalm 5 1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my groaning. 2 Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to Thee do I pray. 3 In the morning, O LO...

This episode contains a handful of ideas and examples of ways to help motivate your devotional life. The best way to learn and be motivated to pray is to emerse yourself in the Book of Psalms and listen to this podcast. :)