Dear Father, There is something peculiar about how a person's burden has a way of isolating them from the rest of the world. What surprises me is that even Jesus, in the very season when He needed His closest friends most, found Himself without the support of any man. The Scripture says, "Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me... Afterward he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" They pledged to die with Him, and all He requested was that they pray with Him at the defining and most agonizing moment of His life. Instead, He found them asleep. I wonder what measure of loneliness and disappointment lay behind the words, "Could you not watch with Me one hour?" Sadly, this experience is not unique to Jesus. Although He was vocal in expressing His emotions, we have yet to pay attention to those moments of loneliness and betrayal that often go unnoticed. What do we do when, in a defining moment, the presence of people around us bears no more weight than numbers that can be counted? Surrounded, yet isolated! How do we navigate difficult seasons when no one seems to understand our language, and help seems no more than a friend in deep sleep? Jesus communicated His pain, asked for help, and then He did something noteworthy: He prayed. Perhaps this can be translated to mean: when no one understands the language of my burden, You do. Translations: Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #seasons #Loneliness #tryingtimes #help

Dear Father, There is something peculiar about how a person's burden has a way of isolating them from the rest of the world. What surprises me is that even Jesus, in the very season when He needed His closest friends most, found Himself without the support of any man. The Scripture says, "Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me... Afterward he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" They pledged to die with Him, and all He requested was that they pray with Him at the defining and most agonizing moment of His life. Instead, He found them asleep. I wonder what measure of loneliness and disappointment lay behind the words, "Could you not watch with Me one hour?" Sadly, this experience is not unique to Jesus. Although He was vocal in expressing His emotions, we have yet to pay attention to those moments of loneliness and betrayal that often go unnoticed. What do we do when, in a defining moment, the presence of people around us bears no more weight than numbers that can be counted? Surrounded, yet isolated! How do we navigate difficult seasons when no one seems to understand our language, and help seems no more than a friend in deep sleep? Jesus communicated His pain, asked for help, and then He did something noteworthy: He prayed. Perhaps this can be translated to mean: when no one understands the language of my burden, You do. Translations: Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #seasons #Loneliness #tryingtimes #help

Dear Father, A friend once spoke to me about the disappointment she experienced after encountering a prophet, and I felt sad about it. Today, I came across a Scripture where You said, "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." The most striking part of this passage is that You acknowledged those who went without being sent were, indeed, prophets. If there is a possibility for a prophet to prophesy without being sent, how safe are we to place our trust in the ministry of prophets? I recall a man of God once saying, "The role of a prophet in your life shouldn't necessarily be to reveal new things, but to confirm something you already know." This makes it necessary to reflect on the depth of our spirituality--one in which the matters concerning our lives are first revealed to us before, if ever, they are revealed to anyone else. Yet, how many of us can relate to knowledge before manifestation through the prophetic? And how many of us assume that the seeing eye is reserved exclusively for the prophetic office? If confirmation is not our experience, isn't believing a risk? I believe in the ministry of prophets, but I also encourage the pursuit of spiritual growth. How can we embrace the good when we are without direction? And reject the false when we do not even know that we are at liberty to do so? Perhaps the problem is not just about the existence of false prophecy, but our dependence on others for what we ought to seek from You ourselves. Translations: Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #prophecy #theprophetic #spiritualgrowth #knowledge

Dear Father, A friend once spoke to me about the disappointment she experienced after encountering a prophet, and I felt sad about it. Today, I came across a Scripture where You said, "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." The most striking part of this passage is that You acknowledged those who went without being sent were, indeed, prophets. If there is a possibility for a prophet to prophesy without being sent, how safe are we to place our trust in the ministry of prophets? I recall a man of God once saying, "The role of a prophet in your life shouldn't necessarily be to reveal new things, but to confirm something you already know." This makes it necessary to reflect on the depth of our spirituality--one in which the matters concerning our lives are first revealed to us before, if ever, they are revealed to anyone else. Yet, how many of us can relate to knowledge before manifestation through the prophetic? And how many of us assume that the seeing eye is reserved exclusively for the prophetic office? If confirmation is not our experience, isn't believing a risk? I believe in the ministry of prophets, but I also encourage the pursuit of spiritual growth. How can we embrace the good when we are without direction? And reject the false when we do not even know that we are at liberty to do so? Perhaps the problem is not just about the existence of false prophecy, but our dependence on others for what we ought to seek from You ourselves. Translations: Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #prophecy #theprophetic #spiritualgrowth #knowledge

Dear Father, I have questions regarding Jonah's mindset and his request to be thrown into the sea. After he fled by ship to Tarshish, away from Your instruction to minister to the people of Nineveh, the sea became tempestuous. In an attempt to resolve the crisis, he told the men, "Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you..." Into a tempestuous sea? What inspired such a mindset? Did he not think they would actually throw him overboard? Or was he so hell bent on escape that, if escape was no longer possible, he preferred death? Certainly, this occurrence was part of a greater plan in Your purpose. However, this illustration has me pondering the tendency of a man whose heart is burdened by the guilt of sin to compel himself to bear the weight of his own shortcomings, as though self-inflicted suffering could atone for his transgressions. We encounter such situations when we are led to believe that our failures have placed us beyond Your mercy. Rather than run to You, like Jonah, we run from You. For we would rather be cast into a tempestuous sea than seek Your mercy, as though judgment were easier to receive than grace. How often are we trapped in the guilt of sin? We do not talk enough about how some of us have distanced ourselves from You because we feel unworthy to receive mercy. Yet we fail to ask ourselves, "If worthiness were the requirement, why did Jesus come to die?" Father, sin is never encouraged, but neither is guilt the answer. Mercy is. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #guilt #mercy #condemnation #conviction

Dear Father, I have questions regarding Jonah's mindset and his request to be thrown into the sea. After he fled by ship to Tarshish, away from Your instruction to minister to the people of Nineveh, the sea became tempestuous. In an attempt to resolve the crisis, he told the men, "Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you..." Into a tempestuous sea? What inspired such a mindset? Did he not think they would actually throw him overboard? Or was he so hell bent on escape that, if escape was no longer possible, he preferred death? Certainly, this occurrence was part of a greater plan in Your purpose. However, this illustration has me pondering the tendency of a man whose heart is burdened by the guilt of sin to compel himself to bear the weight of his own shortcomings, as though self-inflicted suffering could atone for his transgressions. We encounter such situations when we are led to believe that our failures have placed us beyond Your mercy. Rather than run to You, like Jonah, we run from You. For we would rather be cast into a tempestuous sea than seek Your mercy, as though judgment were easier to receive than grace. How often are we trapped in the guilt of sin? We do not talk enough about how some of us have distanced ourselves from You because we feel unworthy to receive mercy. Yet we fail to ask ourselves, "If worthiness were the requirement, why did Jesus come to die?" Father, sin is never encouraged, but neither is guilt the answer. Mercy is. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #guilt #mercy #condemnation #conviction

Dear Father, I've studied the attitude of humans toward becoming or successfully acquiring things, having realized the thin line that exists between appreciating something and finding our sense of worth in it. For instance, an intelligent person can appreciate his intelligence and put it to use, but there becomes an issue when he derives his identity from being known as the smartest person in the room, such that his worth rises and falls with retaining that position. This applies also to matters such as wealth, fame, beauty, ministry, jobs, or relationships. A way to distinguish appreciation from worth based acquisitions is to respond to the question: If this were taken away from me, would I lose a blessing, or would I lose myself? Today, I came across a scripture which says: "Thus saith the LORD, Let neither the wise, mighty, nor rich man glory in his wisdom, might, or riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me..." In this scripture, You tried to reveal the danger of losing ourselves to things when our confidence is tied to something other than our relationship with You. Yet how many of us can confidently respond in the affirmative to the first question? And how many glory in our knowledge of You? The idea is that the pursuit becomes intense when acquisitions are tied to self-worth. And how self-fulfilling it would be if that acquisition itself were our knowledge of You? Yet, subconsciously, we glory not in what we know about You, but in all we've acquired about things. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #worth #glory #relationship #value

Dear Father, I've studied the attitude of humans toward becoming or successfully acquiring things, having realized the thin line that exists between appreciating something and finding our sense of worth in it. For instance, an intelligent person can appreciate his intelligence and put it to use, but there becomes an issue when he derives his identity from being known as the smartest person in the room, such that his worth rises and falls with retaining that position. This applies also to matters such as wealth, fame, beauty, ministry, jobs, or relationships. A way to distinguish appreciation from worth based acquisitions is to respond to the question: If this were taken away from me, would I lose a blessing, or would I lose myself? Today, I came across a scripture which says: "Thus saith the LORD, Let neither the wise, mighty, nor rich man glory in his wisdom, might, or riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me..." In this scripture, You tried to reveal the danger of losing ourselves to things when our confidence is tied to something other than our relationship with You. Yet how many of us can confidently respond in the affirmative to the first question? And how many glory in our knowledge of You? The idea is that the pursuit becomes intense when acquisitions are tied to self-worth. And how self-fulfilling it would be if that acquisition itself were our knowledge of You? Yet, subconsciously, we glory not in what we know about You, but in all we've acquired about things. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #worth #glory #relationship #value

Dear Father, I once heard someone say, "Humanity is orchestrated in such a way that each of us has something to offer." Thereafter, I began to study every individual I encountered and observed the truth of that statement. I saw the uniqueness of each person's gifts and strengths, and how those qualities became most evident when they were given the opportunity to function within their niche and purpose. Tailors who mastered their craft serve us better. Speakers who pay attention to their library influence better. I also noticed the grey areas in every person. No matter the level of mastery a man attains, he may be entirely ignorant in another field, and that is perfectly acceptable. It seems that our capacity to offer is, in many ways, proportional to our need to receive from others. However, there are areas in life where every man must strive toward mastery, irrespective of niche. One such area is the knowledge of Your Word. A scripture says, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night." Yet there are leading professionals whose knowledge of Scripture pales in comparison to their achievements. So there are situations where a single man grounded in Your Word may be called upon to answer the questions of countless others who have given little attention to it. Yet this pursuit was never assigned to a select few. Must we be told that mastery in the knowledge of Your Word is the responsibility of every believer? Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #mastery #knowledge #study