We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

If one really wants to a see a theology for the church in action, one might walk into an old church graveyard at night. Walk about and see the headstones weathered and ground down by the elements. Contemplate the fact that beneath your feet are men and women who once had youthful skin and quick steps and hectic calendars but who are now piles of forgotten bones. Think about the fact that the scattered teeth in the earth below you once sang hymns of hope -maybe 'When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder I’ll Be There' or 'When We All Get to Heaven.' They are silent now. But while you are there, think about what every generation of Christians has held against the threat of sword and guillotine and chemical weaponry. This stillness will one day be interrupted by a shout from the eastern sky, a joyful call with a distinctly northern Galilean accent. And that’s when life really gets interesting.
Russell Moore

We need to learn how wrong it is to think of prayer as a way of getting something from God. People often think of prayer as a way of talking God into doing what they want Him to do. This is what lies behind 'name it and claim it' Christianity, the idea that I can influence God by offering the right kind of prayer. But that attitude ultimately leads to hell. As C. S. Lewis once observed, 'There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ';Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, ';Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it.' Besides, why would anyone want to change God's mind? The Bible says that His will is 'good, pleasing and perfect' (Rom. 12:2). Imagine what a mess our lives would be in if God always did what we wanted Him to do! For unlike God's will, our own wills are evil, displeasing, and imperfect.
Philip Graham Ryken