Many prayers fail of their errand because there is no faith in them. Prayers which are filled with doubt are requests for refusal. Imagine that you wrote to a friend and said, ‘Dear Friend, I am in great trouble and I, therefore, tell you, and ask for your help because it seems right to do so. But though I thus write, I have no belief that you will send me any help. Indeed, I should be mightily surprised if you did and should speak of it as a great wonder.’

Will you get the help, do you think? I should say your friend would be sensible enough to observe the little confidence which you have in him and he would reply that, as you did not expect anything, he would not astonish you. Your opinion of his generosity is so low that he does not feel called upon to put himself out of the way on your account.

When prayers are of that kind you cannot wonder if we ‘have not, because we ask amiss.’ (Charles Spurgeon, Ask and Have)

by Richard Shin

Here are some weekly links for you to chew on this weekend.

• Michael Patton gives a defense of Christianity to himself. Can you, in your own mind, give a defense for the hope you have?
• He also gives some very practical advice for those who know Christians doubting their faith.
• Ray Ortlund shares an excerpt on how Zwingli and fellow scholars studied the Bible back in the 16th Century. It’s a sobering reminder that we ought to rejoice in the abundance of resources, thanks to the many scholars that came before us and the Holy Spirit that empowered them.
• As we close our time during second hour on biblical manhood and womanhood, John Piper and Darrin Patrick discuss this topic in this video.
• Rick Holland wrote an open letter to his son, who turned 16 this past week. Some wise advice from a loving father to his son.
• Dan Philips from the Pyromaniacs blog asks a simple question, “Is Christianity rational?”
• The Resurgence posted about The Great Debate. If you haven’t heard it before, you need to hear this now.

That’s all folks. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Coram Deo