Category Archives: Prayer

Unanswered prayers

Posted on November 29, 2018 by vincentsmithauthor

Reverend Daniel Hans wrote about a sermon he preached following the death of his three-year-old daughter to cancer. His heart broke as he watched her slowly die, so he asked his congregation to share things they’d hoped God would do … Continue reading →

Posted in Disappointed, Faith, God with us, Prayer | Leave a comment

Never underestimate a grandmother’s prayers

Posted on November 29, 2018 by vincentsmithauthor

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader who brought an end to the Cold War, was born into a family of committed atheists. But his grandmother had him secretly baptized by a Russian Orthodox priest, and she put an icon of … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Faithfulness, Family, Prayer | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Calming our confused internal chatter

Posted on August 12, 2018 by vincentsmithauthor

According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald entitled ‘Scientists Find Biological Reality Behind Religious Experience’, scientific research shows that when people pray and meditate things happen in their brains which give a sense of connectedness to a reality … Continue reading →

Posted in Peace, Peace of mind, Prayer, Revealing God, Silence, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

God’s ‘endless breach of contract’

Posted on February 10, 2018 by vincentsmithauthor

Broadcaster Phillip Adams, in the Weekend Australian, once referred to the perceived failure of God to answer the prayers of desperate people as ‘this endless breach of contract, this failure to honour the guarantee.’ I think the failure is in … Continue reading →

Posted in God, God with us, God's faithfulness, God's love, Prayer | Leave a comment

‘Let us pray that we are on God’s side.

Posted on July 26, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

Prayer, for many people, seems to be a way of trying to get God to support what they want to happen. This, of course, assumes that we, with our very limited understanding of the bigger picture of life, really do … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Faithfulness, God, God's Will, Prayer | Leave a comment

Who are you talking to?

Posted on June 12, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

When Lyndon Baines Johnson was inaugurated as President of the United States he invited several guests for a meal at the family room of the White House. He asked journalist Bill Moyers, who had previously been a Baptist minister, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Prayer, Sincerity | Leave a comment

What do we gain by praying?

Posted on March 17, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

There are some things in life that we just do automatically, even though we later wonder why on earth we do them. One of them is praying. Even in this very secular and materialistic age most people still say they … Continue reading →

Posted in Agnosticism, Faith, Prayer | Leave a comment

The peace that comes from talking things over with your best friend

Posted on January 26, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

The greatest enemy of joy is anxiety. To a certain extent anxiety is natural; it helps us avoid danger. Sometimes, though, it becomes a type of mental illness because it bears little relation to reality. But for most of us … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Peace, Prayer, Worry | 2 Comments

Handfuls of grace

Posted on November 9, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

When I was a small boy there was a shop that would sell kids a handful of lollies for a penny. The shop was owned by a married couple, and of the two the husband was by far the most … Continue reading →

Posted in God's faithfulness, God's pleasure, Grace, Prayer | Leave a comment

The God of peace

Posted on September 29, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

Robert Frost said: ‘More people die of worry than die of work, because more people worry than work.’ Someone else said that you should only worry if your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles; or if your … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, God, Peace, Peaceful Sleep, Prayer, Renewed Minds, thankfulness, Worry | Leave a comment