Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

We believe … but we don’t, at the same time. Why?

We want to know God, and that’s good. He wants to be known! But we somehow begin to pretend that we can fully comprehend Him. We try to confine Him to a box we constructed according to the dimensions of our own minds. When we face an impossible need, like the father in Mark 9, we find that our God – at least, our version of Him – is too small.* When called upon to share our faith, we discover that no one is interested in a puny god. In your prayer times this week, ask the Holy Spirit to bust open your box and release the God of unfathomable greatness in your life.

* Phrase from the excellent book, Your God Is Too Small, by J.B. Phillips

1. This topic of God remade in man’s image is on my mind because I am praying for a young woman who is withholding belief in God until all her questions about Him are answered to her satisfaction. Perhaps you know someone like that too. Pray that the Holy Spirit will humble them and reveal to them that they can never, and will never, be equal to God in anything.

2. Scripture is the best antidote for a shrunken image of God. Prayfully read all or part of Chapters 38-41 of Job. Who is this who darkens My counsel with words without knowledge? … Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.

3. Lift up the men of our TLC (Transitional Living into Community) program. Pray for guidance for the intake team and for the leaders in the house. Thank the Lord that one resident now has two jobs, and ask for the time management skills and personal discipline he needs to handle both. Many of the men are starting small groups at Calvary for the first time. Pray that they will grow spiritually in leaps and bounds even as they contribute to the growth of the other men in their groups.

4. Lift up the Men’s Retreat, October 16-17. Men, ask the Lord if He wants you to participate and how He wants to use you to encourage others. Ask Him whom you could invite to attend with you.

5. Our Fall FunFest is a month away. Ask God to bring forward an abundance of workers with servant hearts to make this event possible.

6. A blog reader suggested that we ask the Lord to remind us that every Christian is our brother or sister. That means I should treat everyone at Calvary as my family. I should view other local churches as family, not competitors. I should care about and pray for my brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.

7. Commitment is increasingly uncommon today. Pray that we Christians will be shining examples in our culture, willing to make commitments and fierce about keeping them.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert, Prayer Chair
Calvary Community Church of Brea