Dan
I was moved to tears with an overwhelming sense of God’s greatness and beauty. Hiking with friends in the Colorado mountains, we reached the continental divide and the panorama was breathtaking. The land sloped down on one side into a valley. On the other was a glacier and a mountain lake. Below my feet was the tundra—with delicate wildflowers growing at 14,000 feet. I remember thinking of the words from the popular song: “Morning has broken like the first morning. Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s re-creation of the new day.”
SAY TO GOD: “HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME!”
I recently led a very intergenerational group at our church men’s retreat—from guys in their 20s to seniors in their 70s. I did some teaching on being men of integrity. At the close, we had a time of blessing the younger men. With them sitting in a circle, the older men stood around, laid hands on them, and spoke words of blessing, dedicating them to the Lord. Passing the baton and affirming the young men reminded me of God’s faithfulness. This kind of mentoring fills my heart with purpose!
SAY TO GOD: “MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE!”
After the breakup of Yugoslavia, there was a need to pioneer a new student ministry in Bosnia. I visited Sarajevo and did a prayer walk around the university, asking God to lead me to one Christian student or some way to make a new beginning. I met a pastor who had one strong Christian university student in his church. He introduced me to Enisa—who introduced me to seven more. This became the beginning of a student ministry in Bosnia. God was at work, through prayer, creating something out of nothing for his Kingdom.
SAY TO GOD: “GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD!”
I noticed two students from Serbia and Croatia engaged in a heated debate. Their countries were at war, and they were sharing stories of war atrocities on both sides. The setting was a Balkan Christian student conference I helped organize. I had been ministering among students in Eastern Europe during the Balkan wars. We held the conference in Austria, since students from warring countries could get visas to this neutral country. In spite of the conflict, the students were able to rise above tensions and embrace one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
”SAY TO GOD: “DELIVER US FROM EVIL!”