William Richard Ezell

Birthday: April 28

About

Birthday:

April 28

My Forums

Praise God for Blessings and Burdens

Praise God for Blessings and Burdens By Rick Ezell “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” (Psalm 146:1-2 NIV). There is an emphatic ring as the Psalmist’s soul or his inner being praises the God of the universe. The Psalmist told his readers to praise God and he told his readers that he praised God. He practiced what he preached. It was his way of saying I will praise God as long as I live or for the…

Started by William Richard Ezell in What's up

Prayer as a Vocation

Prayer as a Vocation By Rick Ezell “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35 NIV). Glenn Hinson, professor of church history and spirituality, tells about taking a church-history class to the Abbey Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky. Their host was Thomas Merton, a Trappist Catholic monk who wrote more than sixty books on spirituality. To Hinson’s horror, one of his students asked why someone…

Started by William Richard Ezell in Sphere #1 in my CLOSET

The Prayer Force

The Prayer Force By Rick Ezell Prayer is the indispensable and vital function of a believer. No aspect of our Christian life is more essential and crucial to our personal growth and health, and the church’s growth and health, than spending time with God. We are never taller than when we are on our knees. We are never stronger than when we are confessing our weaknesses. We are never bolder in public than when we are quiet before God in private. Prayer brings God to us. Prayer reminds us that…

Started by William Richard Ezell in Sphere #1 in my CLOSET

Prayer Brings God To Us

Prayer Brings God To Us Rick Ezell “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8 NIV). Prayer reminds us that we need God more than he needs us. Prayer brings God to us. The essence of prayer is to join God, not God joining us. St. Augustine, the early church father and theologian, described prayer as like a man in a hapless boat who throws a rope at a rock. The rock provides the needed security and stability and life for the helpless man. When the rock is lassoed it’s not the…

Started by William Richard Ezell in Sphere #1 in my CLOSET

Prayer Works

Prayer Works Rick Ezell “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” 1 John 5:14 NIV. Does prayer really work? Actually this is a bad question. Prayer is not a utilitarian practice aimed at achieving an accomplishment. Neither is prayer an exercise in which a person gets exactly what he asks for if he takes great care to state the request properly. Prayer is not merely communicating words with God, but communion with God…

Started by William Richard Ezell in Sphere #1 in my CLOSET

Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers Quotes from Book

Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove InterVarsity Press, 2008 Reviewed by Rick Ezell Prayer is not so much about convincing God to do what we want God to do as it is about convincing ourselves to do what God wants us to do (p. 11). Prayer is less about what we say and more about being with the one we love (p. 11). Prayer and action can go together; in fact they must. Otherwise we have little more than a bunch of inactive believers or worn-out…

Started by William Richard Ezell in Coaching Sessions & Interviews

Transforming Prayer Book Review

Transforming Prayer by Daniel Henderson Reviewed by Rick Ezell Prayer is more about God than about us. Daniel Henderson in Transforming Prayer drives home this point with clarity, wit, and candor. While he confesses that he is not a natural prayer guy, Henderson reveals how he had to relearn prayer after growing dissatisfied with his early prayer life. His dissatisfaction led him to a life-changing prayer strategy he calls worship-based prayer. This approach seeks the face of God before the…

Started by William Richard Ezell in Coaching Sessions & Interviews

My Blogs

Believing Prayer Works

Posted by William Richard Ezell on April 3, 2014 at 15:14

"But he (Jesus) would withdraw to desolate places and pray" (Luke 5:16 ESV).

Jesus prayed. Nineteen times the Gospels record instances where Jesus prayed.…

Turn Around

Posted by William Richard Ezell on February 17, 2012 at 11:32

Turn Around
By Rick Ezell

"Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19 NASB).

How often have you stopped at a gas station to ask for direction only to have the attendant say,…

The Power of Prayer

Posted by William Richard Ezell on February 3, 2012 at 10:10

The Power of Prayer

By Rick Ezell

"So I prayed to the God of heaven . . ." (Neh. 2:4 HCSB).

When…

When We Are Wrong

Posted by William Richard Ezell on September 29, 2011 at 11:24

When We Are WrongBy Rick Ezell"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear" (Isa. 59:1-2 NIV).When our prayers aren't answered whom do we blame? Most often, if we are honest, we blame God. We wonder what is wrong with God for not granting our requests. When, many times, we are the problem.Let's face it, sometimes we are wrong. We may be…

The Relationship Component

Posted by William Richard Ezell on June 25, 2011 at 8:48

The Relationship ComponentBy Rick Ezell"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you" (John 15:7 NIV).For some people prayer is nothing more than a meaningless ritual. Like the little boy who asked his father when they sat down at the dinner table, "Dad, can I talk to our plates tonight." Many people treat prayer like an Aladdin's Lamp. We pray our prayers, like rubbing the lamp waiting on the genie to pop out to grant the requests to our…

The Baffling of Unanswered Prayer

Posted by William Richard Ezell on May 19, 2011 at 14:20

"I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer" (Job 30:20 NIV).A Sunday school class wrote letters to missionaries informing them that they were praying for them. One missionary got a letter that read, "Dear Mr. Missionary, we are praying for you, and we don't expect an answer."How many people pray yet don't expect an answer. They feel like Job. "I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer" (Job 30:20 NIV). They go through life wondering if God will ever answer their prayers. They are not…

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