Anna Wood's Page

What makes prayer effective?

Is it beautiful words? Setting a mood?

Is it a detailed prayer list? Aloneness?

Perhaps it is gathering with like-minded brethren?

Is it fasting? Self-denial?

Those things are, in fact, side issues. Effective prayer comes when one knows God well, aligns his will with God’s and then puts himself at God’s disposal.

God delights in the heart that seeks Him, not only above all else, but, instead of all else.

We frequently say that God is first in our lives (but we… Continue

Job 13: 15, ” Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him….”

I Peter 4: 12, 13, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

James 1: 2, 3, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh pat… Continue

Calvinism uses the acronym TULIP to represent it’s said “five points.” T: Total Depravity; U: Unconditional Election; L: Limited Atonement; I: Irresistible Grace; P: Perseverance of the Saints. It was not Calvin himself who so organized his teachings but, rather, his followers who, in answering five objections to Calvin’s teachings from Arminians (followers of Dutch Reformer Jacobus Arminius were originally called Remonstrants), arranged the TULIP acronym in order to make their answer memorable.… Continue

(If we are deeply concerned about the state of the church; if we shudder to see God’s holy Name abused and misused, not only by the world but also by His own people; if we are determined to obey God and be used by God no matter what it costs us–if we are not careful, we can become harsh and judgmental and so very, very blind to our own sins. We must always carefully examine ourselves and invite God to do so also. We must see our sins as He sees our sins: vile, disgusting and what caused Him t… Continue

We pursue God because we are pursued by Him. We aren’t thrown to the wind by Him to see if we can find out way Home alone. He pursues us. He draws us. Even as we seek Him, He is the One in control.

Jesus says that no one comes to Him unless the Father draws him. Each step of the way, each time I wistfully looked farther down the road hungering for a Reality that I was so sure of and yet so unclear about, He was there guiding me, drawing me, pursuing me in my pursuit of Him.

The legalistic thin… Continue