Category: Faith

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My Top Ten Business and Spiritual Books

I love to read. Reading is one way that I grow and change every year. Maybe you have heard the saying “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Every year I am very intentional about planning out some of the books I want to read in the coming year. I don’t always get them all read, but it really helps to have a list. I have started using a website called Goodreads to keep track of the books I am currently reading, the ones I want to read and the ones that I have finished.

I have been meeting with a group of guys that have committed to read one book per month for 10 months. Some of these guys were not readers and this has been a struggle, but they have hung in there and made a solid effort to get through the books. I know it is stretching and changing these guys. They will not be the same after these 10 months.

I hope you will consider increasing your reading. It may be reading one book this year or maybe its reading one per month. Set a realistic goal and then start reading. If you spend a little time each day reading, you can finish nearly any book in a month.

Here is my top ten business book list followed by my top ten spiritual book list:

  1. Tribes: We need you to lead us – by Seth Godin
  2. 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
  3. Good to Great by Jim Collins
  4. Becoming a Coaching Leader by Daniel Harkavy
  5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  6. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
  7. First Break all the Rules: by Marcus Buckingham
  8. The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
  9. The 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell
  10. The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn

Spiritual Growth Top Ten:

  1. The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg
  2. Crazy Love by Fancis Chan
  3. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
  4. Victory Over Darkness and Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson
  5. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
  6. When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett
  7. TrueFaced by Bill Thrall
  8. Deadly Emotions by Don Colbert
  9. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero
  10. Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

There are many more I could add to each list, but these are some of the ones that have influenced me the most over the years. If you want to change in 2011, then make a commitment to read. Schedule it on your calendar if you have to. One last thing, I also read the Bible every year, usually in a different versions. Some of my favorite versions of the Bible are:

  • The Message by Eugene Peterson
  • New International Version
  • Amplified Bible
  • New Living Translation
  • The Leadership Bible New King James Version

Leaders are readers!

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Backwards

Most of the time, we see things backwards. When things go bad or hard times come we tend to have a very narrow view. It is very difficult to step back and see the bigger picture. In the book of Acts, we get to hear the story about Paul and how he spread the word about a loving, generous God to people all over the area. It is fascinating to hear about his adventures and how he faced opposition and challenges.

After he had spend many years pouring himself into key leaders, teaching them the good news about Jesus he knew he needed to go to Jerusalem. There were many people that warned him strongly not to go. They told him is was too dangerous, that he would be imprisoned, beaten and possibly killed. Any way you slice it, he would be facing extreme opposition if he went.

Agabus, a prophet, strongly warned Paul that the Jews in Jerusalem would tie him up and hand him over to non-believers. After hearing this Paul’s friends all begged him not to go. This is how he responded to the fear that gripped those around him:

“Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene and making it even harder for me? You’re looking at this backward. The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?” Acts 21:12-13 He also said earlier in Chapter 20:24 “What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredible extravagant generosity of God.”

Paul refused to let life’s problems derail him. He understood that what happens in you is more important than what happens to you. He also understood that when you look to Jesus as your role model and draw strength from Him each day, He’ll give you all that’s needed to overcome life. Here are some more take-aways from Paul’s example:

  1. No one enjoys pain, but a faithful disciple wants to do God’s will above all else
  2. Our desire to trust God should overshadow our desire to avoid hardship and suffering.
  3. When we really want to do God’s will, we must accept all that comes with it – even pain.
  4. What we put into life is far more important than what we get out of life.
  5. Single-mindedness is a quality needed by anyone who wishes to do God’s work. The ability to narrow the focus to what really matters.
  6. The way in which we handle adversity can bring glory to God and encouragement to others or shame to God and discouragement to others.
  7. When we face our fears head on, God does some amazing things.
  8. When we take a step in obedience, God brings strength and courage for the next step.
  9. Fear can keep those closest to you from seeing the bigger picture and understanding why you are doing what you are doing for God.
  10. God is more interested in strength and stability than in speed. Growth is gradual.

What do you need to face head on instead of running from? What perspective do you have on what is happening in your life right now? Is how you are handling life bringing glory to God? What painful experience has helped shape your character and who you are today? What situation are looking at backwards?

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Top Ten Core Values of Jesus

In Jesus’ first sermon recorded in Mathew he talks about core values. He lists ten core values that he wanted all of his followers to embrace. As I read through Mathew chapter 6 and 7 these values jumped out at me. Read it for yourself sometime. Here is Jesus’ top ten values:

  1. Do the right things for the right reasons (6:1-8 & 16-18)
  2. Pray for God’s will, not your own (6:9-13)
  3. Relationships are vital, they will make you or break you – Keep short accounts (6:14,15)
  4. Prioritize eternal things, not temporal things (6:19-24)
  5. Don’t sweat the small stuff (6:25-31, 34)
  6. God’s kingdom is the most important thing in life; seek it first (6:32, 33)
  7. Judge yourself before you judge others (7:1-6)
  8. If you need something ask; if you have something, give it. (7:7-12)
  9. Stay true to your convictions; Stay on the narrow path of following Christ. (7:13-20)
  10. Obedience to God is the only solid foundation in life. Listen to and do what He says (7:21-27)

Jesus also summarized the Bible by saying “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

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How to Help Without Hurting

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need and has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:17-18

My takeaway from that verse is that Christians need to be doing more not less to help those in need. There are two kinds of responses people can make to this verse.

  1. “I just don’t care about the poor, My life is all about me and I like it that way”
  2. “I can’t wait to help the poor! The love of God is in me”

I guess there could be a third response of I have thought about helping the poor, but just don’t know how.

A word of caution to the people with response number two. There can be mixed emotions and motives behind wanting to help the poor. Here are some possible motives:

  • A need for meaning and purpose in our lives
  • A desire to feel like we are the answer to someones problem
  • To be a bit like God – it makes me feel good to try to save or help poor people.

The danger is to unintentionally reduce poor people to objects that we use to fulfill our own need to accomplish something good. Really the answer for all three responses is that we need to be reminded of the Gospel every day. We are all broken and poor in some way. It may not be financially, but it might be relationally, emotionally, spiritually or physically. We need to be reminded that Jesus paid it all and covers all our sins and short comings. So we are not on this earth to fix ourselves or other people, we are here to love God and love other people.

Our approach to helping poor people should be to love them. Taking the time to build relationships, to listen to their story and really care about them. It means taking a longer term approach with people instead of a quick fix like paying a bill for them, or buying them groceries once. Often times we like to swoop in and help someone out and then never interact with them again. That usually confirms to that person that they are poor and feeds the shame they feel. It does not help that person heal emotionally or to mend broken relationships or build new healthy relationships.

Here are five principles we can use in our approach to giving:

  1. Give yourself first – First give yourself fully to the Lord and then to other people. This means viewing ourselves as servants, here to serve and love others.
  2. Give to the point of sacrifice – We should not just give our leftovers, but our best. We should give the first 10% of our income to God through the local church. We should give above that if we are able. We should give our talent, abilities and experiences to helping others through the local church or non-profits. We should give our best time, by planning out when we can serve and help those in need.
  3. Give willingly – giving should be voluntary and not out of obligation, but out of love. Giving is a privilege and a way of worshiping God.
  4. Give what you have – We cannot give what we do not have. We can give our money to healthy organizations, we can give our talent to help our churches and healthy non-profits, we can give our time to people and organizations as well.
  5. Give with a plan in mind – Desire is not enough, there should be a deliberate setting aside of time, talent and treasure. In other words, we need to plan out our giving. Find the right church or nonprofit that we can work with to make a difference.

In order to really help someone we need to understand if they need relief, rehabilitation or development. In many situations, relief is not needed, but rehabilitation or development is needed. Relief should go to the severely disabled, some elderly that cannot care for themselves, the very young, orphaned children, mentally ill homeless and victims of natural disaster. Most others may want relief, but need rehabilitation and development.

Most people are poor because of broken relationships. Development looks to help restore and to build healthy relationships. This takes time, patience and work. We should not do things for people that they can do for themselves. When we step in and do things for people they can do for themselves we send a message to them that they are incompetent, hopeless and helpless. Instead we should work with them to help them improve their lives. This is the helping in truth part from the opening Scripture.

This holiday season, I want to encourage you to think long-term if you want to help someone in need. If you are not willing to do that, then it would be better to not get involved. You can still help by giving to organizations that have this approach. Here are some organizations that my church supports. NewPointe Community Church also has this approach of mentoring and working long-term with people to help make big changes in their lives. We might help them financially along the way, but it is part of a plan for helping them grow and change.

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May God Bless You With Discomfort

I read this today in Michael Hyatt’s Blog and thought it would be worth sharing. This is a different way of looking at the world around us. I have been challenged lately to love people better. Jesus told us to love others like we love ourselves. I am not sure I can say that I do that every day. So here is a prayer for me and for you:

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
And turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to our children and the poor.

Amen

I hope that was as inspiring and challenging to you as it was for me. I want to challenge you to start praying that prayer and asking God to make you uncomfortable. Compassion and love for people is not a feeling, it is an action – Go make a difference!

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How Can You Know God’s Will?

I received some questions that our mentors hear from time to time and thought I would address them here. The first one was “How Can I Know God’s Will?”

Other similar questions might be: Can I really know God’s will for my life? Do you think God really has a plan for me? How do I know that what I’m doing is God’s will? Does his will change?

Without reservation, I believe God has a plan for our lives! However, living day to day can feel like visiting a major city for the first time without a GPS or map. Sometimes we just feel unsure of what direction to go or what to do. We would like God to write us a message in the sky telling us what to do.

What do we normally do when we get lost or disoriented? Asking directions is usually what gets us back on track. I just gave a truck driver directions this morning, he had received confusing instructions about where he was going. After talking with him for a while I discovered where he needed to go and was able to give him clear directions on how to get there.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could meet with Jesus like that and ask for directions. As Christians we have a personal guide and map as we try to navigate through life. The Holy Spirit is our guide and the Bible is our map. That is what we need to look to, to know God’s will for our lives.

God tells us this in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plan I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

If we want to know God’s will for our lives, we need to look to God’s Word. Much of God’s will has already been revealed through the Bible. For example in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 it says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified (holy): that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like those who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him.”

  • God’s Word reveals His will for our attitude in certain situations: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess. 5:18
  • God’s Word reveals His will for how we should handle critics: “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.” 1 Peter 2:15

The purpose of the Bible is to reveal God’s character, and express His deep love for us. We can be certain that God’s purpose and vision for our lives will never be contrary to His revealed character. For instance, it is not God’s will to sin in anger, to disregard human life, to neglect children or your spouse or to be rudely impatient.

Revealing God’s will in our lives is a process. We wish He would just tell us who to marry, where to work, how to raise our children and how to have healthy relationships. The problem is, even if He would do that, we often would not listen and still do things our own way. The Old Testament is full of stories demonstrating that.

That is the journey we are all on, learning from mistakes and painful experiences in life. Without those difficult, hard times, we would not be growing to be more like Jesus. Here are some stages along the way to knowing God’s will for our lives:

  1. Obey God’s Word – We should not ask God to reveal His will and then decide after He reveals it whether or not we will obey it. If we take that approach, we will miss out on God’s best for us. In order to obey God’s Word, we need to know God’s Word.
  2. Ask God what His will is for us – Prayer is vitally important is this process. Psalms 143:10 says “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your spirit lead me on level ground.” God will not always reveal His will immediately even after you pray about it. However He will reveal as much as we need to know at that time. Prayer often changes us not the circumstances. A mark of a mature believer is praying for God’s will to be done and really meaning it. Maybe His will is for you to change!
  3. Recognize that His Spirit bears witness – The Holy Spirit lives in us to help us with the decisions of life. He interacts with our spirit so we can know that we are in the center of God’s will. One benefit of the Holy Spirit living in us is peace. When we are doing God’s will, we can experience peace, even when a storm is raging around us.
  4. Pay attention to circumstances – God opens and closes doors. Because we are His children He promised to direct our steps. Life is not a series of accidents, based on chance or happenstance. We are not some insignificant blob. The Bible says “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 He did not say some things, He said all things – God speaks and directs through life’s circumstances. So ask yourself, What does God want me to learn in this circumstance.
  5. Have a relationship with the body of Christ – A key element of our process or spiritual growth is our relationship with a local church. Having close relationships with other believers is vital in following God’s will for our life. God often speaks through other people.

If you are facing some difficult decisions in life or are trying to find God’s will for your life, here are five simple things you can do:

  1. Read the Bible – God will never ask you to do anything contrary to His Word
  2. Pray – Ask Him for direction, peace, wisdom, discernment, courage.
  3. Ask your self and those close to you if there is peace in going this direction. Peace not relief from pain or difficulty.
  4. Is a door clearly open, do you have an opportunity to do something good. Or are you trying to force the door open on your own?
  5. Seek other Christ followers to affirm whether this situation is God’s will. Ask for honesty not for agreement or sympathy.

If you have done all five of these you should have a pretty clear indication of whether this is God’s will or not. If one of these is not in agreement, you should consider that a yellow warning light from God. Maybe it’s not against God’s will, but it may be the wrong timing.

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Between a Rock and a Hard Place

When you are in the midst of a really difficult situation you can feel helpless and hopeless at times. The old saying of being between a rock and a hard place describes many peoples lives. So what do you do when you find yourself in the midst of a divorce? Or what do you do when you find out your spouse has been unfaithful? What do you do when one of your children is making horrible choices? What do you do when facing financial hard times? What do you do when someone you love dies?

If your a follower of Christ this is what God wants you to know. “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end- Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior… So don’t be afraid: I’m with you. Isaiah 43:2-5

Here are four practical things to do while in over your head, in rough waters or between a rock and a hard place:

  1. Forgive yourself – Most of us find it very difficult to forgive ourselves for messing up. We beat ourselves up over and over again. That usually leads to a downward spiral. Remember that God forgives and forgets, and He will give you the grace to forgive yourself, too.
  2. Forgive those who’ve hurt you – Forgiveness is the one power you always have over someone who hurt you. Forgiveness means canceling the debt and letting them off your hook. They still are on God’s hook, let Him deal with them. Forgiveness is a huge step toward healing and wholeness.
  3. Take your time, go slow – When your hurting, it is never a good idea to make major decisions. You’re riding an emotional roller coaster and that is never a good time to move quickly. Don’t get into new relationships if you have a freshly broken one. When you are in difficult circumstances seek wise counsel, surround yourself with healthy Christian friends and be patient. Healthy people make healthy choices, so spend time reading God’s Word, praying, seeking counsel, and allowing yourself to be made whole.
  4. Start giving back – This can be a hard thing to do, because when your in the midst of crisis you don’t feel like serving others. However, becoming more like a servant is one of the best things you can do to get your mind off your problems and onto God and wholeness. “Your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.” 2 Chr 30:9. Knowing that God will not turn His face from you if you seek Him, helps you to comfort and serve others.

So no matter what your going through, God is with you. The choices you make while in the midst of turmoil will become part of your story. Choosing to forgive yourself and others, going slow and being patient and serving others will pay dividends in the end. It will lead to good fruit and a healthy heart.

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Fasting

Last week Pastor Dwight talked about some practices that can help us grow in our relationship with God. One of those may not be as familiar to some people as things like prayer and giving. Fasting is one way to grow closer to God. It is a discipline of abstinence.

Fasting is abstaining from food for a period of time in order to gain mastery of the physical realm and open us up to the spiritual. Fasting has been around a long time, as a matter of fact the Jews practiced fasting before Jesus came and most religions practice fasting. Jesus just assumed people practiced the discipline of fasting. In Matthew 6:16 he says “When you fast…”

Fasting is not dieting, dieting is about losing weight, looking and feeling better physically. Fasting is about getting closer to God. Fasting is all about denying our appetite to better control our flesh. Russell Nelson says it this way, “Fasting gives you confidence to know that your spirit can master appetite, and helps to protect against later uncontrolled cravings and gnawing habits.”

Most people, myself included are obsessed with food. Our worlds tend to revolve around food or where and when we are going to eat. Many people use food as a way to relieve stress or ease pressure in their lives. Food can be a comfort for some people as well. Fasting puts food in its place. It helps us to have a different perspective on food.

We should never fast just to fast, because we know we should. Just like reading the Bible because we should, instead of desiring to communicate with God. Fasting should be done to repent for our sins or the sins of others. Fasting is a way of showing God that we are serious about sin and do not treat it casually.

Another reason to fast is to deepen your prayer life. Fasting enables us to focus better on prayer. Fasting and praying for another person’s salvation or healing is a common way we should approach a fast. Several years ago the men’s group I was in did this together. We fasted for three days and we each were praying for the same person for healing. We also each had one person that we were praying for their salvation. What a powerful time of growth for all of us in that group.

Here are some benefits of the discipline of fasting:

  1. Peacefulness – Fasting can bring peace to a busy life. When we incorporate solitude, silence, Scripture and prayer with a fast, we can experience amazing peace.
  2. Dependence on God – When we do without something it makes us appreciate it even more. Food is a gift from God, and we often forget that here in America. After ending a fast the food we eat tastes better, and we appreciate it much more.

How to start practicing fasting:

  • Start small – I don’t recommend starting with a 7 day fast.
  • Consider a partial fast – A total fast is abstaining from all food and drinking only water. A partial fast may be fasting from certain types of food like desserts, carbonated beverages or caffeine. The Daniel fast is fasting from all meat and following a strict vegetarian diet. Daniel 1:12
  • Fast from something other than food – One year I fasted from TV for 40 days.
  • Start a special day fast – Pick a day each week that you will fast and have extended times of prayer.
  • Think about a major fast – in time you might aim for an extended fast of three days or more. A friend of mine did a 40 day fast a few years ago.

Start praying now about how fasting may help you in your spiritual journey. It is a good idea to check with your doctor before you do any kind of an extended fast. Some people can’t fast from food because of health reasons. A partial fast or fasting from a non-food item may be best. I want to challenge you to consider fasting as a spiritual discipline.

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Empathy 101

Are you empathetic? That is a question I have had to ask myself lately. I have been studying this quality called empathy and have been challenged to work on improving this competency in myself.

Here are several definitions of empathy:

“A motivation oriented towards the other” – Daniel Batson

“To empathize means to share, to experience the feelings of another person” – R. R. Greenson

So empathy is to feel what another person feels and to be able to express that emotion yourself. This is a competency that when developed helps you to tune into the other person’s thoughts and feelings. The basic ability to recognize emotions is for most people something you learn as a child. It is almost an unconscious thing you do. Yet it is something that you can improve at and learn to increase accuracy and intensity.

Most people are more able and willing to empathize with people they like or know well. We tend to empathize best with the people closest to us. The more contact we have with someone the more likely we will be in tune with their emotions, unless of course we are not developing this competency.

Empathy is not sympathy. Empathy is more about feelings and sympathy is more about actions. You sympathize when you express how sorry or happy you are for them. If you are a highly empathetic person, you are most likely also sympathetic, but a person that is sympathetic and not empathetic can come across as shallow and will not connect emotionally. Their actions or words comes across as more of a conditioned response than a compassionate understanding.

Empathy has some benefits:

  • Empathy connects people together – you are more drawn to someone empathetic.
  • Empathy heals
  • Empathy builds trust

So how do you improve your empathy quotient? Here are a few things to consider:

  • Pay attention – Are you fully present when you are with people? Do you give people your full attention or are you thinking about your next task or appointment? Do you consciencely look for body language signals when talking with someone? Are you conscience of your own body language when you are interacting with someone?
  • Try to get a sense of actually being in the other persons shoes – What would it be like if this was my situation? What must it feel like to have grown up like they did?
  • Imagine the other person as a child – This can be very helpful for people that are irritating or threatening.
  • Ask questions – What was that like? How did you feel? How did you handle that?
  • Look beneath the surface – What does the other person most deeply want? What is broken in their lives?
  • Slow down – When you are running 100 MPH it is very hard to stop and be empathetic.

Of course empathy does not happen if you don’t care about people. Selfish people don’t empathize well. Many leaders struggle with this as well, because they are highly motivated and goal oriented. Empathy takes time and you almost need to go in slow motion to really empathize with someone. If you see the other person as a project, you cannot empathize well.

The best way to increase your ability to empathize with someone is to spend time meditating on God’s word. Meditation has been proven to increase your ability to focus and pay attention. So if you lack the ability to focus or pay attention, then extended times of meditation on God’s word could help you break through some big walls in your life.

To check your empathy Quotient click here

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How to Grow your Faith, Character & Leadership

My personal mission statement I have tried to follow the last 10 years is “Growing in Faith, Character and Leadership. Most people would probably say they also want to grow in these areas of their lives. What I have learned is that I cannot grow in these areas on my own. I can learn about these areas, but to grow and actually live it out, I can only do that with the help of Christ.

In John Chapter 15 Jesus talks about the vine and the branches. He is the Vine and we are the branches that produce fruit. Jesus talks about remaining or abiding in Him in order to bear fruit. In other words if we stay joined to or close to Christ, He produces fruit in our lives. The key is to stay close to Him, to stay connected to Him.

Abiding or remaining in Christ is just another name for intimacy with Christ. He wants to express His life through us, which comes through your attachment to Him. If our prayer life is just a matter of shooting up an occasional SOS as emergencies come up, we are missing that intimacy or closeness. If we just have our devotions in the morning in order to get it done and check it off our list, we don’t understand abiding.

In order to stay connected or close to Christ we must first understand how much He loves us. That should be our focus, love. Later in this same chapter Jesus says, “Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you.”

Our faith, our character and our leadership can only grow if we stay close to Christ. When we submit to Him and talk to Him on a regular basis. When we regularly read, listen or speak His words from the Bible. When we spend time worshiping Him and soaking up His love, we grow. When we meditate or focus on Jesus some amazing things start to happen in our lives. We have more wisdom, strength, courage, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, righteousness and self-control.

So if you are looking to grow in your faith, character, leadership or other areas of your life, the best thing you can do is focus on Christ and discover how much He loves you. We cannot manufacture Character, Christ produces it when we stay close to Him. We cannot love our spouse unconditionally, but Christ can through us. We cannot lead people as we should, but Christ can direct us and lead through us. We cannot have great faith on our own, but Christ can grow our faith when we stay close to Him. When we are close to Him, we see things more like He sees them and He can do things in us we could never do on our own.

I can’t but He can, should be our prayer every day.