Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and physical health disorder caused by experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. Persons who experience PTSD often turn to alcohol or drugs to alleviate physical or mental symptoms. Physical symptoms include surges in levels of adrenaline or cortisol which cause a person’s body to be on perpetual “high [ Read More ]
The fifth line of the Lord’s Prayer is “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Now that we have hallowed God’s name and his intentions, relied on him for provision, and practiced gospel-centered forgiveness, we have begun “playing offense” in the world of spiritual warfare. However, we need also to “play defense.” [ Read More ]
The fourth line of the Lord’s prayer is, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” After having honored his name and his intentions and having asked for him to provide our daily needs, we inquire about one specific need: we pray for him to forgive our sin and to empower [ Read More ]
After having opened our prayer by expressing our longing for God’s kingdom and honoring his promise to restore the world, we are now ready to ask him to provide for our needs This is the third line of the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” In this time between Christ’s first and [ Read More ]
It has been said that harboring resentment is like ingesting poison and then waiting for the other person to die. Indeed, resentment rots the soul. It causes the soul, and in some ways the body, to wither on the vine. Thus, if we wish to keep our souls vibrant and our bodies healthy, we must [ Read More ]
The second line of the Lord’s prayer is, “Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Or, in paraphrase, “Please send your Son soon to set the world to rights, so that we can live under your loving reign, with no more sin or suffering, and in the context [ Read More ]
During the last year, I have begun reciting the Lord’s Prayer, slowly and meditatively, twice per day. I find this habit to be supremely helpful in shaping my thoughts and actions throughout the 24-hour period. I offer this series, therefore, to elaborate on why this habit is so meaningful for me and how it might [ Read More ]
We live in a fallen world in which we are sometimes exposed to terrifying events. Experiencing or witnessing those events can cause severe psychological trauma. However, we can be comforted in knowing that the God who experienced a traumatic crucifixion on our behalf is with us in the midst of our trauma, and that he [ Read More ]
I’m going to ask you to, um, trust me on this: some of the people you think you can trust—whether friends, family members, clients, bosses, political leaders, or romantic interests—are fundamentally untrustworthy. It’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way, and one that I wish to pass on. The common wisdom is that the only [ Read More ]
In the first installment of this two-part series, we explored the first part of the Serenity Prayer with an eye toward learning to live without anxiety. After all, Jesus exhorted us, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put [ Read More ]