Thursday, October 8, 2015

Quotes from the Cloud #40

This year, I hope share weekly posts of quotes. These quotes are from authors I'm reading and enjoying from the Clouds of Witnesses Reading Challenge

For fellow participants, what I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see is for people to share quotes from what they're reading. I'd love for you to share quotes occasionally with your readers and let me know about it. If you don't have a blog, you could always leave quotes in the comments here.
When we pray, we’re not telling God anything he doesn’t already know. Rather, we are the ones gaining knowledge and insight. Asking God to supply our needs keeps us from becoming like the unbelieving skeptics, who don’t acknowledge God and don’t thank him for his many gifts. ~ Martin Luther, "Faith Alone," September 11
If our faith were as strong and steady as it should be, we would practically die from sheer joy. But we praise God because we know that even those who have only a little faith are also children of God. That’s why Christ said, “Do not be afraid, little flock” (Luke 12:32). So we always need to pray with the apostles, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5), and pray with the man in the book of Mark who cried out, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief !” (Mark 9:24). ~ Martin Luther, Faith Alone, September 19
Our sinful nature is an enemy of prayer. It quickly becomes bored, careless, and indifferent to what God says and the good life he gives us. For this reason, we will never have as much wisdom, knowledge of God’s Word, faith, love, or patience as we should. Every day our sinful nature hangs around our necks and drags us away from prayer. The world is also an enemy of prayer. It’s so envious that we have faith and God’s precious Word that it refuses to put up with any of it, no matter how weak we may be. The world condemns us, tries to take away what we have, and gives us no peace. These are the two enemies of prayer: our sinful nature and the world. On the inside, they try to decrease our desire to pray, and on the outside, they try to chase us away from prayer. All we can do is continue crying out to God. We should pray for strength and better understanding of his Word. ~ Martin Luther, Faith Alone, September 21
God’s Word is a flame that shines in the darkness. Through teaching, preaching, and the sacraments, its glow spreads. If we use this light, then God will no longer remain hidden from us. When we’re faced with disasters, when we’re overwhelmed by darkness, when things seem so dark that we doubt that we are part of the church or pleasing to God, then we should learn to reach for the Bible. Wherever the Bible sheds its light, no real danger exists. Without the Bible, we wouldn’t know or understand anything. ~ Martin Luther, Faith Alone, September 25

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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