October 31, 2023
by Eric Stillman
Three weeks ago in this space, in light of the atrocities in the Middle East, I began a four-part series on lament, a type of prayer God gives us to process our grief. In his book Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Mark Vroegop defines lament as “a prayer in pain which leads to trust.” Laments consist of four movements: turn to God, voice your complaint, ask boldly, and choose to trust. Think of it like a decision tree: in movement one, as you experience suffering, you have a choice to either turn to God or away from Him. In movement two, you can either suck it up and pretend all is fine, or you can give full vent to all your emotions to God. In movement three, you can either accept what is happening as fate, or ask God to act, to bring justice, to show up, to move, to act according to His character. And in movement four, you can either get swallowed up by your despair, or you can choose to trust that God is good, that He is sovereign, and that He loves you....Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Suffering, Lament
October 24, 2023
by Eric Stillman
Two weeks ago in this space, in light of the atrocities in the Middle East, I began a four-part series on lament, a type of prayer God gives us to process our grief. In his book Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Mark Vroegop defines lament as “a prayer in pain which leads to trust.” Laments consist of four movements: turn to God, voice your complaint, ask boldly, and choose to trust. Think of it like a decision tree: in movement one, as you experience suffering, you have a choice to either turn to God or away from Him. In movement two, you can either suck it up and pretend all is fine, or you can give full vent to all your emotions to God. In movement three, you can either accept what is happening as fate, or ask God to act, to bring justice, to show up, to move, to act according to His character. And in movement four, you can either get swallowed up by your despair, or you can choose to trust that God is good, that He is sovereign, that He loves you....Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Suffering, Lament
October 17, 2023
by Eric Stillman
In last week’s Pulse, in light of the atrocities in the Middle East, I began a four-part series on lament, a type of prayer God gives us to process our grief. In his book Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Mark Vroegop defines lament as “a prayer in pain which leads to trust.” Laments consist of four movements: ...Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Suffering, Lament
October 10, 2023
by Eric Stillman
Over the weekend, Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas launched an invasion against Israel. We mourn for yet another senseless war, for lives lost and survivors who will never be the same, and we pray for peace. Come quickly, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).
In light of this tragedy, I thought it would be timely to remember that God gives us a way to process our grief through a kind of prayer known as lament....Keep Reading
Posted in: Suffering Tags: Prayer, Suffering, Lament
May 2, 2023
by Eric Stillman
This Thursday is the National Day of Prayer, and we will be hosting the Wethersfield prayer meeting from 12-1 on that day. Prayer, like many elements of the Christian faith, is on the one hand so simple that even a toddler can do it (as we saw this past Sunday when Grace Collibee prayed out loud during the opening prayer time!). On the other hand, however, there are heights and depths of prayer that would take a lifetime of devotion to learn. When you read Jesus’ promises that He will do whatever we ask in His name, and then experience how often our prayers go unanswered, the conclusion is either (a) God is a liar, or (b) there is a level of prayer that we have yet to reach. Jesus often speaks of Master’s level praying, while our prayer life is often still stuck in grade school....Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Discipleship, E.M. Bounds
March 14, 2023
by Eric Stillman
I have mentioned before in this blog the incredible book of Puritan prayers known as The Valley of Vision. There is something about the combination of 17th-19th century language (complete with many SAT words) and the gospel declaration of the depth of our sin and the beauty of God’s love for sinners that speaks to me in a way that is very different than today’s average Christian book or devotional. Below are snippets from some of the prayers that are particularly meaningful to me. May these words humble you and lift you up as you meditate on the gospel of Jesus’ death for you:...Keep Reading
Posted in: Gospel Tags: Gospel, Prayer, Valley of Vision
January 17, 2023
by Eric Stillman
In 2 Chronicles 20, we read a story of an army from Edom that was attacking Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, and its king, Jehoshaphat. In response to the threat, Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast, and people from all over gather at the temple to ask God for help. Jehoshaphat prays, recounting how God has come through in the past for His people. And then, in verse 12, he says, “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” As the people pray, God’s Spirit comes upon a man named Jahaziel, who prophesies and tells them to go out to fight the army and to not be afraid, for the Lord will be with them. Jehoshaphat sends out the army, but incredibly, at the head of the army he places not the strongest fighting men, but rather a group of men worshiping the Lord. And in verse 21, we read “As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”...Keep Reading
Posted in: Discipleship Tags: God, Prayer
April 5, 2022
by Eric Stillman
Since the beginning of 2022, we have been focusing on prayer and revival at NewLife. Revival, simply put, is an increase in the presence and power of God in the church and in the community. Listen to how J.D. Greear explained it in his book Jesus Continued: Why the Spirit Inside You is Better than Jesus Beside You:
“In an awakening, the Spirit of God does not typically do a ‘new’ thing; he simply pours greater power upon the ‘normal’ things faithful Christians are already doing. Prayers become more intense; worship becomes more joyous; repentance becomes more sorrowful; and the preached Word yields greater effect. The Spirit of God multiplies the effectiveness of our ‘normal’ work of seed-planting, bringing a bountiful harvest. And he does more in a moment than we can accomplish in a lifetime.”...Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, D.L. Moody, Holy Spirit
March 29, 2022
by Eric Stillman
One of the tensions of the Christian life is that while salvation is so simple that even a five-year-old can have genuine saving faith, discipleship is so sophisticated that even the most devoted Christian will never arrive at perfection this side of heaven. While “faith like a child” brings us into a genuine relationship with God (Matthew 18:3-5), we will never come close to plumbing the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of God (Romans 11:33).
In the same way, while it is accurate to say that on the one hand, prayer is as simple as “talking to God,” there are also heights and depths of prayer that are so much more advanced that than simple definition....Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Discipleship, E.M. Bounds
September 21, 2021
by Eric Stillman
One of my favorite stories of answered prayer from my own life came when I was 23 and the youth pastor of NewLife. Our growing youth group of about 20-25 senior high students had been meeting at my apartment in Manchester. Things were going great, but unfortunately the walls were paper thin, and my neighbors could hear every screaming teen, every beat of the conga drum, and every song being sung, and I felt terrible about it. When the lease year was nearing the end, I began praying that God would provide a house where we could meet. I had two friends who lived in the same apartment complex as me, and we decided that together we would look for a house to rent.
...Keep Reading
Posted in: Faith Tags: Prayer, Faith
July 27, 2021
by Eric Stillman
This past Sunday, I preached on when Jesus cleared the money changers out of the temple, which happened in John 2 and again in Mark 11. One of the most powerful sermons I ever heard was on these passages, and was given by Jim Cymbala at a praise gathering (you can watch it on YouTube here). Cymbala references the episode where Jesus clears the money changers out of the temple in order to drive home the point that God’s house is meant to be a house of prayer above all other things ...Keep Reading
Tags: Church, Prayer
July 6, 2021
by Eric Stillman
In Acts 5, Peter and the other apostles are spreading the good news about Jesus through preaching and miraculous deeds. The Jewish high court arrests them and forbids them to speak in Jesus’ name. Peter boldly refuses to comply with their demands, and as a result, the religious leaders want to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel addresses the assembly, advising them to leave the men alone. He tells them that “if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39)...Keep Reading
Tags: Church, Prayer
July 6, 2021
by Eric Stillman
In Acts 5, Peter and the other apostles are spreading the good news about Jesus through preaching and miraculous deeds. The Jewish high court arrests them and forbids them to speak in Jesus’ name. Peter boldly refuses to comply with their demands, and as a result, the religious leaders want to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel addresses the assembly, advising them to leave the men alone. He tells them that “if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39)...Keep Reading
Tags: Church, Prayer
July 6, 2021
by Eric Stillman
In Acts 5, Peter and the other apostles are spreading the good news about Jesus through preaching and miraculous deeds. The Jewish high court arrests them and forbids them to speak in Jesus’ name. Peter boldly refuses to comply with their demands, and as a result, the religious leaders want to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel addresses the assembly, advising them to leave the men alone. He tells them that “if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39)...Keep Reading
Tags: Church, Prayer
June 15, 2021
by Eric Stillman
I was challenged recently by something I heard in a video by Dennis Fuqua, a pastor and leader of a prayer ministry called International Renewal Ministries. He was addressing the question of how to handle prayer requests that may have little relevance to your personal situation ...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer
June 2, 2021
by Eric Stillman
We all read the Bible with our own cultural filters, lenses to which we are often blind. One of the most glaring filters in our culture is how individualistic we are, while the world Jesus inhabited was much more communal. Case in point: I read recently that 33 out of 37 verses on prayer that are found in the gospels are commands given not to individuals but to groups of people. Verses such as “Ask and it will be given to you (plural), seek and you (plural) will find, knock and the door will be opened to you (plural)” (Matthew 7:7) assume that prayer will be a corporate affair, where believers seek God together. And yet I would dare to say that most of us operate in the American church as if God’s primary concern is our personal prayer life, not the prayer life of our faith community....Keep Reading
Tags: community, Prayer
May 25, 2021
by Eric Stillman
2 Samuel 11 marks a turning point in David’s life. Up until this point, God has brought him from the anonymity of a shepherd boy, to the courts of King Saul, and eventually to the throne of Israel. David is a courageous warrior, an inspirational poet, a leader of a nation, and, most importantly, a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22). But by the end of 2 Samuel 11, David will have become guilty of adultery with Bathsheba, and of causing the murder of her husband Uriah.
...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Spiritual Warfare, David
May 4, 2021
by Eric Stillman
In the Christian faith, there are many seemingly contradictory things that must be held in tension. God is three yet one. Jesus is fully man yet fully God. The Bible is God’s Word yet written by humans. When it comes to our walk with God, there is another important tension we must hold: our God is so approachable and accessible that even a four-year-old can have a genuine saving relationship with Him, yet He is so far beyond our human comprehension that even the wisest theologian or holiest person of God can never come close to plumbing the depths of who He is. As Paul put it in Romans 11:33-34, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Faith
February 2, 2021
by Eric Stillman
I’ve often heard the analogy that for those whose job it is to spot counterfeit money, the best training is to study the real thing, to become so familiar with genuine money that spotting the fraud becomes second nature. When this analogy is applied to God and to His Word, it truly becomes some of the best advice a Christian can receive. The better acquainted you become with who God is and what the Bible says, the easier it is to spot the charlatans. Along those lines, part of my testimony of coming to faith in Jesus includes attending a youth group the summer after I graduated from high school, before I matriculated at UConn. I distinctly remember going around to parties the first couple of days at UConn, and feeling like they were so fake after what I had experienced that summer. God, and the life found in Him, was the genuine article; all the parties had to offer was a poor imitation of the good life.
...Keep Reading
Tags: God, Prayer, Discipleship, Revival
December 15, 2020
by Eric Stillman
If you were able to hook up a secret camera in the church sanctuary and watch me in my morning prayer time on some weekday mornings, I swear that you would think a crazy person had entered the building. It’s hard for me to put into words what happens to me in those moments. On most Sundays, or when I am worshiping with others, I am fairly reserved, often preferring silence and introspection to loud music or many voices. I do not find inspiration in stadiums filled with dancing Christians or at large conferences. But get me alone in the sanctuary with God, and my spirit comes alive, with an insatiable hunger and thirst for Him, an other-worldly desire that completely transforms me into a charismatic Christian. I yell, I run, I cry, and I fall to the ground, unable to get low enough before my great God....Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Discipleship, devotion
January 29, 2019
by Eric Stillman
This past Sunday, after I preached on confession and forgiveness, we read in unison a prayer from a book called The Valley of Vision: a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. If you have never read this book, it is a unique and fascinating read, full of rarely used SAT words but also with a theological and devotional depth unmatched by modern-day prayer and devotional books. Below is the prayer we read on Sunday, entitled Continual Repentance: ...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Self-Image
January 15, 2019
by Eric Stillman
One of my favorite stories of answered prayer from my own life came when I was 23 and the youth pastor of NewLife. Our growing youth group of about 20-25 senior high students had been meeting at my apartment in Manchester. Things were going great, but the bad part was that the walls were paper thin, and my neighbors could hear every screaming teen, every beat of the conga drum, and every song being sung, and I felt horrible about it. When the lease year was nearing the end, I began praying that God would provide a house where we could meet. I had two friends who lived in the same apartment complex as me, and we decided that together we would look for a house to rent. ...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Faith
January 2, 2019
by Eric Stillman
If I could only listen to one sermon for the rest of my life it would be a message Jim Cymbala gave at a praise gathering called “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (you can watch it on YouTube here . Cymbala references the episode where Jesus clears the money changers out of the temple in order to drive home the point that God’s house is meant to be a house of prayer above all other things ...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Faith
October 23, 2018
by Eric Stillman
I can’t say that I was surprised to read in chapter 3 of The Kingdom Unleashed that one of the biggest differences between the church in the Global North and the Global South is our attitude towards prayer. I have personally walked through too many days spending minimal time in prayer before God, and I have presided over too many sparsely attended prayer meetings, to know that this description is sad but true. Trousdale and Sunshine argue that not only do we not pray enough in the Global North, but when we do pray, our priorities tend to not be the same as God’s priorities. According to Jesus’ answer to his disciples in Matthew 6 when they asked him how to pray, our priorities should be...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Discipleship
April 17, 2018
by Eric Stillman
It was 1872, and D. L. Moody decided to go to England for a time of learning from the great English preachers of that day. He had decided to merely sit and listen, and not do any ministry of his own. One pastor named John Lessey, upon hearing that Moody was in town, begged him to preach in his pulpit on both Sunday morning and Sunday night. Reluctantly, Moody accepted the request of this pastor of a medium-sized congregation in London.
The morning sermon did not go well...Keep Reading
Tags: Evangelism, Prayer
October 31, 2017
by Eric Stillman
Today is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. One of the benefits of anniversaries such as these is the reminder that there is so much wisdom to be gained from people who have been dead and gone a long time. Christian booksellers are concerned with making money, and so they are always pushing the latest and greatest books on us. But a reasoned reflection ...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, History
August 29, 2017
by Eric Stillman
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3)
We are experiencing unprecedented crisis and chaos in our beloved city. Right now, all over social media you will find people telling others that they are praying and asking the nation to pray for the people of Houston. How are we to pray? The Scripture is clear on ways to pray in times of distress. As I’m praying, below are my requests to the Father and I thought I’d pass them along to you....Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Suffering
May 17, 2016
by Eric Stillman
Today’s post was written by Jordan Standridge on a website called The Cripplegate, and can be found here. May this story encourage you regarding the power of prayer.
It was 1872, and D. L. Moody decided to go to England for a time of learning from the great English preachers of that day. He had decided to merely sit and listen, and not do any ministry of his own. One pastor named John Lessey, upon hearing that Moody was in town, begged him to preach in his pulpit on both Sunday morning and Sunday night. Reluctantly, Moody accepted the request of this pastor of a medium-sized congregation in London.
The morning sermon did not go well. The people were not responsive. They were bored and didn’t want to be there. Moody, although disinclined to preach in the evening because of the incredible apathy he witnessed in the morning, decided to go ahead and keep his word....Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, D.L. Moody
December 1, 2015
by Eric Stillman
I am by nature an introvert, a pretty quiet person. I enjoy extended times of silence, and don’t have an overwhelming need to get together with other people. In some ways, then, the above passage from Ecclesiastes is right up my alley, and has long been one of my favorites. The writer of Ecclesiastes exhorts his listeners to be careful in the words they speak and the vows they make before God, and instead come inclined to listen to God....Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Discipleship
August 4, 2015
by Eric Stillman
When we are going through difficult times, or are watching our loved ones suffer, it can be hard to know the right way to pray. On the one hand, God is our good, all-knowing, and all-powerful heavenly Father, and so we may be tempted to simply pray that God’s will would be done, trusting that He will do what is best. On the other hand, we may feel that it is right to keep on asking and pleading for our desired outcome, believing in faith that God will bring what we ask for to pass.
We have all likely heard contradictory advice on this....Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Suffering
July 7, 2015
by Eric Stillman
In Tim Keller’s book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, he talks about how, in his early 50’s, he finally began to truly pray. Even though he had been a pastor (of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City) for many years, he had struggled to have a strong prayer life. But then in 2001, the city of New York experienced the horror of 9/11, his wife struggled with the effect of Crohn’s disease, and he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
It was at this point that Tim’s wife, Kathy, urged him to pray with her every night, something they had always struggled to do. She put it this way:...Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Suffering
September 2, 2014
by Eric Stillman
Recently I‘ve been reading a collection of Puritan prayers called The Valley of Vision. It is a collection of prayers written by men such as Charles Spurgeon, Richard Baxter, Isaac Watts, David Brainerd, and John Bunyan, among others. I‘ve never been much of a history guy ‘" I realize that most of what I read is either by current authors or is from the Bible ‘" and so reading this book has been an interesting experience. I have found that reading something devotionally from a different time period can be difficult at times, but every once in a while a writer puts things in a way that just cuts to my heart. Below is a prayer called ‘œNeed of Grace‘ that has ministered to me recently, especially the two lines in bold:...Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, The Valley of Vision
July 29, 2014
by Eric Stillman
In L.B. Cowman‘s devotional ‘œStreams in the Desert,‘ the entry for August 17th tells a story that I have never forgotten about George Mueller, a great man of faith. The story goes like this:
I went to America some years ago with the captain of a steamer, who was a very devoted Christian. When off the coast of Newfoundland he said to me, ‘œThe last time I crossed here, five weeks ago, something happened which revolutionized the whole of my Christian life. We had George Mueller of Bristol on board. I had been on the bridge twenty-four hours and never left it. George Mueller came to me, and said,
‘œCaptain I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec Saturday afternoon.‘ ‘œIt is impossible,‘ I said. ‘œVery well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement for fifty-seven years. Let us go down into the chart-room and pray.‘...Keep Reading
Posted in: Faith Tags: Faith, Prayer
October 22, 2013
by Eric Stillman
One of the best ways to pray, I have found, is to use a passage of Scripture as a guide. This past Sunday, for instance, I preached on the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23), where Jesus tells his disciples that God‘s desire is for our hearts to be like good soil that hear and respond to the Word He sows, but that often that seed can be choked out by thorns, scorched by the sun if we have no depth, or snatched away by the enemy. One way to reflect upon that passage, or to apply the sermon to your life, would be to spend time praying through that passage. For instance, something like this:...Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Scripture
September 11, 2013
by Eric Stillman
Today begins an extraordinarily unique season in our state ‘" 40 Days of Worship and Prayer in churches across Connecticut. In churches across the state, the call has gone out for people to humble themselves, repent of their sin, and cry out for the Lord to pour out His Spirit on our land and bring revival once again. During this season, the focus in our church will be on prayer, worship, and revival, and I want to encourage you to set aside time daily to pray for God to bring revival to our hearts, our church, and our state....Keep Reading
Posted in: Prayer Tags: Prayer, Revival
January 2, 2013
by Eric Stillman
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)...Keep Reading
Tags: Outreach, Prayer
June 19, 2012
by Tammy Choleva
Today’s Pulse article is written by NewLife’s Tammy Choleva, who blogs at http://4-himacademy.weebly.com/tammys-blog.html....Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Guest Blogger
March 13, 2012
by Eric Stillman
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15)
When it comes to cancer, most of us are so used to the second part of Romans 12:15 " mourning with those who mourn " that we rarely have the chance to rejoice with those who rejoice. For the past year or so, we have been praying for one of our missionaries, Laura Payne, as she faced the probability of death due to stage 4 cancer. This past week, we received this letter from Steve and Laura:...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Missions
February 14, 2012
by James Prignano
Today’s Pulse is written by James Prignano. James, his wife Marcia, and their children Selah, Jonah, and Talia have been coming to NewLife for a few months. This is called “A Midnight Prayer.”...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer, Discipleship
October 4, 2011
by Eric Stillman
“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Mark 11:15-17)...Keep Reading
Tags: Prayer
March 2, 2010
by Eric Stillman
Each month in 2010, I am challenging our church to memorize one verse of Scripture together, and to spend time that month meditating on that month‘s theme. In January, we focused on our new life in Christ, memorizing 2 Corinthians 5:17, ‘œTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!‘ In February, the theme was spiritual warfare, with the key verse James 4:7, ‘œSubmit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.‘ In March, we will be focusing on the power of prayer, and the verse I am challenging you to memorize is John 15:7 - ‘œIf you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.‘ This powerful promise is located in a passage where Jesus talks about himself as the vine and us as the branches, and exhorts us that we can do nothing unless we are connected to him. I highly encourage you that when you memorize this or any verse, that you do your best to understand the context in which it is found so that you do not take it to mean something which it does not....Keep Reading
Tags: God, Prayer
