Faith, Hope, and Prayer

Faith, Hope, and Prayer

Copyright © 2019 by Tommy Boone

Published in the United States of America

ISBN Paperback: 978-1-949981-20-9

ISBN eBook: 978-1-949981-19-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

The Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All Scriptures are used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of ReadersMagnet, LLC.

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Interior design by Shemaryl Evans

Contents

Dedication 

Acknowledgment 

Foreword 

Preface 

Introduction 

Chapter 1

The God of Adam, You, and Me 

Faith and Suffering 

Adam, Eve, and Sin 

Shame and Repentance 

Glorifying God 

Chapter 2

By Faith We are Saved 

When Is It Too Late? 

Faith Is Trusting in God 

No Need to Worry 

Faith in God 

Chapter 3

The Power of Prayer 

Be Willing to Pray 

Prayer and God 

Reasons for Praying 

Chapter 4

The Power Within? 

Health and Spirituality 

Nurturing Unhealthy Habits 

The Power Within Is Christ 

Chapter 5

Prayer 

Prayer Is Talking to God 

Sincere and Truthful Prayer 

The Most Common Prayer 

Prayer and Petition 

Chapter 6

Forgiveness 

Unless We Forgive 

Getting Past Resentment 

The Blessings of Forgiveness 

Commanded to Forgive and to Love 

Trust in God 

Look for the Good in the Bad 

Chapter 7

The Holy Spirit 

God’s Grace and Forgiveness 

The Holy Spirit 

God is Love 

Chapter 8

Why Is Suffering Necessary? 

The Gift of Faith 

When Bad Things Happen 

Chapter 9

The Success Formula 

Cheaters Are Losers, Right? 

Spiritual Warfare Is Real 

The Satisfying Reality 

Chapter 10

Meaning, Pleasure, and Faith 

Ask, Seek, and Knock 

Spirituality and Health 

Spirituality and Well-Being 

Spiritual Advisors 

Praying with Patients 

Chapter 11

Hope and Life 

Hope Is a Gift 

Our True Hope 

Hope and the Holy Spirit 

Epilogue 

Bibliography 

Dedication

²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

–Romans 12:2 NIV

This book is dedicated to anyone who is living with the challenges of life whether they are spiritual, personal, family, or work related. Regardless of age, each of us experience moments that either gives us the strength to carry on or takes from us everything we were meant to be. Given life’s circumstances, it is strange that we take so long to understand faith, hope, and prayer and why each is the highest aim of living on Earth.

On behalf of my parents, sisters, and brothers, I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of you for helping me grasp the meaning of Christian living. I thank all of you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me. I am also grateful to the First Baptist Church of Leesville, LA and to all the teachers of various classes that shared their faith through informal discussions with friends my age.

For my wife, Brenda, I dedicate this book to you because you know more than anyone how many hours I spend writing when I could be cutting the grass or tending to Brenda’s list of things to do. I love you so much. You complete my life. Thank you for the endless energy and boundless creativity in the kitchen and throughout our home. Your determination is nothing short of amazing. Our marriage is no ordinary marriage, and I am grateful for all you do for me and our family.

Becoming a Christian is an act of Faith. Brenda, I am happy that we will be together forever in Heaven. I know that you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and we together are living in accordance with what Romans 12:9-21 NIV says, ⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Acknowledgment

²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

–John 14:27 NIV

To trust in a co-worker or a friend is to open yourself up to joy or pain. No one is exempt from either. I have lived both joy and pain as a college teacher, especially from my friends and colleagues. I acknowledge their participation in this book, especially since their behavior had a major influence on my life.

No one is beyond life’s trials. It happens, although we may wish otherwise. Why not remember these brief words? When trouble knocks at your door, know that God is with you. Even if a colleague lies about you and gets you fired, use the insult, emotional hurt, and trouble to move you closer to your commitment to Christ. Trust in His plan for your life. With God you can survive whatever challenges life brings.

I know this is true. I have been there. Prayer helped me to stand firm. It helped me to understand forgiveness and was a significant motivation for writing a book with my brother, The Life Changing Power of The Lord’s Prayer. Then, too, it is important to give credit to essentially every decent and trustworthy person I have worked with throughout my academic life of 44 years. I pray the ~6000 students I had the pleasure of being their college teacher know that I wanted the very best for them.

There is a special place in my heart for the ReadersMagnet. The men and women who helped me with the publishing steps will be remembered and appreciated. I am blessed for their positive comments and suggestions that moved this book forward in the publication process. Also, I want to thank my sister, Ginger Aaron, for all the quoted material she wrote and made available to help me with the writing of this book. Thank you Ginger and God bless you. Finally, thank you Barbara for agreeing to read the manuscript of this book. You are a special person, and I am glad we live so close as a family of Boones.

Foreword

Lead me from Death to Life, from Falsehood to Truth. Lead me from Despair to Hope, from Fear to Trust. Lead me from Hate to Love, from War to Peace. Let Peace fill our Heart, our World, our Universe. Amen.

–Prayer for Peace

We need to pay attention to the power of prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV says, ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. This wonderful gift is hope. It is essential to giving us the peace of God that lifts our spirits.

Put simply, I believe this is just one of many reasons for the Bible and our faith in prayer that moves us from despair and misery to a place of happiness, love, and peace. Fortunately, when we no longer have time to pray and we feel that life is falling apart, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid.

Live life to the fullest for the Holy Spirit helps us to be strong free of anxiety and misguided thinking.

We know this is true because Romans 8:26 NIV says, ²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Thank you, God, that the Holy Spirit helps us to pray. The more we pray and interact with it, the more power and ability to sustain our faith and make it an important habit in our lives.

When we do not know what to pray, we need to meditate, ponder, and hold on to the Word of God. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 NIV, ³¹If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. This is as I understand my brother, the author of this book. He is set free when he writes. I have 20+ books he has published. Whether it is the Introduction to Exercise Physiology, ASEP’s Exercise Medicine Text for Exercise Physiologists, or The Life Changing Power of The Lord’s Prayer (a book we published together), you will grasp his passion for writing.

As to the present book, Faith, Hope, and Prayer, I am excited to share a few thoughts about it. In reading it, I found the emphasis on Faith, Hope, and Prayer to be spot on. Faith is an imperative force to bring forth the message that hope and prayer are necessary to connect with God. As Mark 11:23-24 NIV says, ²³Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

³¹… do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

–Matthew 6:31 NIV

My brother understands the power of faith. He believes a person must move beyond doubt when praying. James 1:6 NIV said it this way, ⁶But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Stated somewhat differently, when you ask in faith, do so with no hesitation and no doubting. This is the point of Proverbs 3:5 NIV, ⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

I know in talking with my brother that his trust in Jesus as the Son of God means everything to him. He understands that God has given each of us a reason to go on, which is his reality of hope and expectation of our thoughts having a positive influence in transforming how we grasp and live not the lust of the flesh but the will of hope and purpose in life. The point is, faith is the answer to our doubts and indecisions.

This book emphasizes the power of hope in choosing the right path. The bottom line is that if you have faith and hope, you have no need to doubt your decision. Believe and you will receive God’s message to you individually and to all of us. Thus, we must live by faith and hope that all is well. Do not be anxious or worried. Live life to its fullest with daily prayer for He knows if we have moved in the right or the wrong direction and whether we are honoring Him.

Remember, we are dead in our transgressions and sins as unbelievers. Living in accordance with this world is an act of disobedience. But, we are also saved by